Antisense modulation of survivin expression

ABSTRACT

Antisense compounds, compositions and methods are provided for modulating the expression of Survivin. The compositions comprise antisense compounds, particularly antisense oligonucleotides, targeted to nucleic acids encoding Survivin. Methods of using these compounds for modulation of Survivin expression and for treatment of diseases associated with expression of Survivin are provided.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/496,694, filed Feb. 2, 2000 issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,335,194, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/286,407 filed Apr. 5, 1999, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,788, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/163,162 filed Sep. 29, 1998, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,709.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides compositions and methods for modulating the expression of Survivin. In particular, this invention relates to antisense compounds, particularly oligonucleotides, specifically hybridizable with nucleic acids encoding human Survivin. Such oligonucleotides have been shown to modulate the expression of Survivin.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A hallmark feature of cancerous cells is uncontrolled proliferation. Among the differences that have been discovered between tumor and normal cells is resistance to the process of programmed cell death, also known as apoptosis (Ambrosini et al., Nat. Med., 1997, 3, 917-921). Apoptosis is a process multicellular organisms have evolved to prevent uncontrolled cell proliferation as well as to eliminate cells that have become sick, deleterious, or are no longer necessary. The process of apoptosis involves a multistep cascade in which cells are degraded from within through the concerted action of proteolytic enzymes and DNA endonucleases, resulting in the formation of apoptotic bodies that are then removed by scavenger cells. Research to date has shown that much of the intracellular degradation is carried out through the action of the caspases, a family of proteolytic enzymes that cleave adjacent to aspartate residues (Cohen, Biochemistry Journal, 1997, 326, 1-16).

The finding that most tumor cells display resistance to the apoptotic process has led to the view that therapeutic strategies aimed at attenuating the resistance of tumor cells to apoptosis could represent a novel means to halt the spread of neoplastic cells (Ambrosini et al., Nat. Med., 1997, 3, 917-921). One of the mechanisms through which tumor cells are believed to acquire resistance to apoptosis is by overexpression of Survivin, a recently described member of the IAP (inhibitor of apoptosis) caspase inhibitor family. To date, overexpression of Survivin has been detected in tumors of the lung, colon, pancreas, prostate, breast, stomach, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and neuroblastoma (Adida et al., Lancet, 1998, 351, 882-883; Ambrosini et al., Nat. Med., 1997, 3, 917-921; Lu et al., Cancer Res., 1998, 58, 1808-1812). A more detailed analysis has been performed in neuroblastoma where it was found that Survivin overexpression segregated with tumor histologies known to associate with poor prognosis (Adida et al., Lancet, 1998, 351, 882-883). Finally, Ambrosini et al. describe transfection of HeLa cells with an expression vector containing a 708 nt fragment of the human cDNA encoding effector cell protease receptor 1 (EPR-1), the coding sequence of which is extensively complementary to the coding strand of Survivin (Ambrosini et al., J. Bio. Chem., 1998, 273, 11177-11182) and which potentially acts as a Survivin antisense RNA. This construct caused a reduction in cell viability. Methods for modulating apoptosis and for reducing the severity of a pathological state mediated by Survivin using agents that modulate amounts or activity of Survivin are disclosed in WO 98/22589, which also discloses the EPR-1 coding strand/Survivin antisense construct described by Ambrosini et al., supra.

Survivin has recently been found to play a role in cell cycle regulation. It has been found to be expressed in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle in a cycle-regulated manner, and associates with microtubules of the mitotic spindle. Disruption of this interaction results in loss of Survivin's anti-apoptotic function and increased caspase-3 activity during mitosis. Caspase-3 is associated with apoptotic cell death. It is therefore believed that Survivin may counteract a default induction of apoptosis in G2/M phase. It is believed that the overexpression of Survivin in cancer may overcome this apoptotic checkpoint, allowing undesired survival and division of cancerous cells. The Survivin antisense construct described by Ambrosini above was found to downregulate endogenous Survivin in HeLa cells and to increase caspase-3-dependent apoptosis in cells in G2/M phase. Li et al., Nature, 1998, 396, 580-584.

As a result of these advances in the understanding of apoptosis and the role that Survivin expression is believed to play in conferring a growth advantage to a wide variety of tumor cell types, there is a great desire to provide compositions of matter which can modulate the expression of Survivin. It is greatly desired to provide methods of diagnosis and detection of nucleic acids encoding Survivin in animals. It is also desired to provide methods of diagnosis and treatment of conditions arising from Survivin expression. In addition, improved research kits and reagents for detection and study of nucleic acids encoding Survivin are desired.

Currently, there are no known therapeutic agents which effectively inhibit the synthesis of Survivin. Consequently, there is a long-felt need for agents capable of effectively inhibiting Survivin expression in tumor cells. Antisense oligonucleotides against Survivin may therefore prove to be uniquely useful in a number of therapeutic, diagnostic and research applications.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to antisense compounds, particularly oligonucleotides, which are targeted to a nucleic acid encoding Survivin, and which modulate the expression of Survivin. Pharmaceutical and other compositions comprising the antisense compounds of the invention are also provided. Further provided are methods of modulating the expression of Survivin in cells or tissues comprising contacting said cells or tissues with one or more of the antisense compounds or compositions of the invention. Further provided are methods of treating an animal, particularly a human, suspected of having or being prone to a disease or condition associated with expression of Survivin by administering a therapeutically or prophylactically effective amount of one or more of the antisense compounds or compositions of the invention.

One embodiment of the present invention is a method of inhibiting the expression of Survivin in human cells or tissues comprising contacting human cells or tissues with an antisense compound 8 to 30 nucleobases in length targeted to a nucleic acid molecule encoding human survivin so that expression of Survivin is inhibited.

The present invention also provides a method of treating an animal having a disease or condition associated with Survivin comprising administering to an animal having a disease or condition associated with Survivin a therapeutically or prophylactically effective amount of an antisense compound 8 to 30 nucleobases in length targeted to a nucleic acid molecule encoding human survivin so that expression of Survivin is inhibited. Preferably, the disease or condition is a hyperproliferative condition. In one embodiment, the hyperproliferative condition is cancer

Another embodiment of the present invention is a method of treating a human having a disease or condition characterized by a reduction in apoptosis comprising administering to a human having a disease or condition characterized by a reduction in apoptosis a prophylactically or therapeutically effective amount an of antisense compound 8 to 30 nucleobases in length targeted to a nucleic acid molecule encoding human survivin so that expression of survivin is inhibited.

The present invention also provides a method of modulating apoptosis in a cell comprising contacting a cell with an antisense compound 8 to 30 nucleobases in length targeted to a nucleic acid molecule encoding human survivin so that apoptosis is modulated.

Still another embodiment of the invention is a method of modulating cytokinesis in a cell comprising contacting a cell with an antisense compound 8 to 30 nucleobases in length targeted to a nucleic acid molecule encoding human survivin so that cytokinesis is modulated.

The present invention also provides a method of modulating the cell cycle in a cell comprising contacting a cell with an antisense compound 8 to 30 nucleobases in length targeted to a nucleic acid molecule encoding human survivin so that the cell cycle is modulated.

In still another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method of inhibiting the proliferation of cells comprising contacting cells with an effective amount of an antisense compound 8 to 30 nucleobases in length targeted to a nucleic acid molecule encoding human survivin, so that proliferation of the cells is inhibited. In one embodiment, the cells are cancer cells. The method may further comprise administering to the patient a chemotherapeutic agent.

Preferably, the modulation of apoptosis is sensitization to an apoptotic stimulus. In one embodiment, the apoptotic stimulus is a cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agent. The method may further comprise contacting the cells with a chemotherapeutic agent. Preferably, the chemotherapeutic agent is taxol or cisplatin.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention employs oligomeric antisense compounds, particularly oligonucleotides, for use in modulating the function of nucleic acid molecules encoding Survivin, ultimately modulating the amount of Survivin produced. This is accomplished by providing antisense compounds which specifically hybridize with one or more nucleic acids encoding Survivin. As used herein, the terms “target nucleic acid” and “nucleic acid encoding Survivin” encompass DNA encoding Survivin, RNA (including pre-mRNA and mRNA) transcribed from such DNA, and also cDNA derived from such RNA. The specific hybridization of an oligomeric compound with its target nucleic acid interferes with the normal function of the nucleic acid. This modulation of function of a target nucleic acid by compounds which specifically hybridize to it is generally referred to as “antisense”. The functions of DNA to be interfered with include replication and transcription. The functions of RNA to be interfered with include all vital functions such as, for example, translocation of the RNA to the site of protein translation, translation of protein from the RNA, splicing of the RNA to yield one or more mRNA species, and catalytic activity which may be engaged in or facilitated by the RNA. The overall effect of such interference with target nucleic acid function is modulation of the expression of Survivin. In the context of the present invention, “modulation” means either an increase (stimulation) or a decrease (inhibition) in the expression of a gene. In the context of the present invention, inhibition is the preferred form of modulation of gene expression and mRNA is a preferred target.

It is preferred to target specific nucleic acids for antisense. “Targeting” an antisense compound to a particular nucleic acid, in the context of this invention, is a multistep process. The process usually begins with the identification of a nucleic acid sequence whose function is to be modulated. This may be, for example, a cellular gene (or mRNA transcribed from the gene) whose expression is associated with a particular disorder or disease state, or a nucleic acid molecule from an infectious agent. In the present invention, the target is a nucleic acid molecule encoding Survivin. The targeting process also includes determination of a site or sites within this gene for the antisense interaction to occur such that the desired effect, e.g., detection or modulation of expression of the protein, will result. Within the context of the present invention, a preferred intragenic site is the region encompassing the translation initiation or termination codon of the open reading frame (ORF) of the gene. Since, as is known in the art, the translation initiation codon is typically 5′-AUG (in transcribed mRNA molecules; 5′-ATG in the corresponding DNA molecule), the translation initiation codon is also referred to as the “AUG codon,” the “start codon” or the “AUG start codon”. A minority of genes have a translation initiation codon having the RNA sequence 5′-GUG, 5′-UUG or 5′-CUG, and 5′-AUA, 5′-ACG and 5′-CUG have been shown to function in vivo. Thus, the terms “translation initiation codon” and “start codon” can encompass many codon sequences, even though the initiator amino acid in each instance is typically methionine (in eukaryotes) or formylmethionine (in prokaryotes). It is also known in the art that eukaryotic and prokaryotic genes may have two or more alternative start codons, any one of which may be preferentially utilized for translation initiation in a particular cell type or tissue, or under a particular set of conditions. In the context of the invention, “start codon” and “translation initiation codon” refer to the codon or codons that are used in vivo to initiate translation of an mRNA molecule transcribed from a gene encoding Survivin, regardless of the sequence(s) of such codons.

It is also known in the art that a translation termination codon (or “stop codon”) of a gene may have one of three sequences, i.e., 5′-UAA, 5′-UAG and 5′-UGA (the corresponding DNA sequences are 5′-TAA, 5′-TAG and 5′-TGA, respectively). The terms “start codon region” and “translation initiation codon region” refer to a portion of such an mRNA or gene that encompasses from about 25 to about 50 contiguous nucleotides in either direction (i.e., 5′ or 3′) from a translation initiation codon. Similarly, the terms “stop codon region” and “translation termination codon region” refer to a portion of such an mRNA or gene that encompasses from about 25 to about 50 contiguous nucleotides in either direction (i.e., 5′ or 3′) from a translation termination codon.

The open reading frame (ORF) or “coding region,” which is known in the art to refer to the region between the translation initiation codon and the translation termination codon, is also a region which may be targeted effectively. Other target regions include the 5′ untranslated region (5′UTR), known in the art to refer to the portion of an mRNA in the 5′ direction from the translation initiation codon, and thus including nucleotides between the 5′ cap site and the translation initiation codon of an mRNA or corresponding nucleotides on the gene, and the 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR), known in the art to refer to the portion of an mRNA in the 3′ direction from the translation termination codon, and thus including nucleotides between the translation termination codon and 3′ end of an mRNA or corresponding nucleotides on the gene. The 5′ cap of an mRNA comprises an N7-methylated guanosine residue joined to the 5′-most residue of the mRNA via a 5′—5′ triphosphate linkage. The 5′ cap region of an mRNA is considered to include the 5′ cap structure itself as well as the first 50 nucleotides adjacent to the cap. The 5′ cap region may also be a preferred target region.

Although some eukaryotic mRNA transcripts are directly translated, many contain one or more regions, known as “introns,” which are excised from a transcript before it is translated. The remaining (and therefore translated) regions are known as “exons” and are spliced together to form a continuous mRNA sequence. mRNA splice sites, i.e., intron-exon junctions, may also be preferred target regions, and are particularly useful in situations where aberrant splicing is implicated in disease, or where an overproduction of a particular mRNA splice product is implicated in disease.

Aberrant fusion junctions due to rearrangements or deletions are also preferred targets. It has also been found that introns can also be effective, and therefore preferred, target regions for antisense compounds targeted, for example, to DNA or pre-mRNA.

Once one or more target sites have been identified, oligonucleotides are chosen which are sufficiently complementary to the target, i.e., hybridize sufficiently well and with sufficient specificity, to give the desired effect.

In the context of this invention, “hybridization” means hydrogen bonding, which may be Watson-Crick, Hoogsteen or reversed Hoogsteen hydrogen bonding, between complementary nucleoside or nucleotide bases. For example, adenine and thymine are complementary nucleobases which pair through the formation of hydrogen bonds. “Complementary,” as used herein, refers to the capacity for precise pairing between two nucleotides. For example, if a nucleotide at a certain position of an oligonucleotide is capable of hydrogen bonding with a nucleotide at the same position of a DNA or RNA molecule, then the oligonucleotide and the DNA or RNA are considered to be complementary to each other at that position. The oligonucleotide and the DNA or RNA are complementary to each other when a sufficient number of corresponding positions in each molecule are occupied by nucleotides which can hydrogen bond with each other. Thus, “specifically hybridizable” and “complementary” are terms which are used to indicate a sufficient degree of complementarity or precise pairing such that stable and specific binding occurs between the oligonucleotide and the DNA or RNA target. It is understood in the art that the sequence of an antisense compound need not be 100% complementary to that of its target nucleic acid to be specifically hybridizable. An antisense compound is specifically hybridizable when binding of the compound to the target DNA or RNA molecule interferes with the normal function of the target DNA or RNA to cause a loss of utility, and there is a sufficient degree of complementarity to avoid non-specific binding of the antisense compound to non-target sequences under conditions in which specific binding is desired, i.e., under physiological conditions in the case of in vivo assays or therapeutic treatment, or in the case of in vitro assays, under conditions in which the assays are performed.

Antisense compounds are commonly used as research reagents and diagnostics. For example, antisense oligonucleotides, which are able to inhibit gene expression with exquisite specificity, are often used by those of ordinary skill to elucidate the function of particular genes. Antisense compounds are also used, for example, to distinguish between functions of various members of a biological pathway. Antisense modulation has, therefore, been harnessed for research use.

The specificity and sensitivity of antisense is also harnessed by those of skill in the art for therapeutic uses. Antisense oligonucleotides have been employed as therapeutic moieties in the treatment of disease states in animals and man. Antisense oligonucleotides have been safely and effectively administered to humans and numerous clinical trials are presently underway. It is thus established that oligonucleotides can be useful therapeutic modalities that can be configured to be useful in treatment regimes for treatment of cells, tissues and animals, especially humans.

In the context of this invention, the term “oligonucleotide” refers to an oligomer or polymer of ribonucleic acid (RNA) or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or mimetics thereof. This term includes oligonucleotides composed of naturally-occurring nucleobases, sugars and covalent internucleoside (backbone) linkages as well as oligonucleotides having non-naturally-occurring portions which function similarly. Such modified or substituted oligonucleotides are often preferred over native forms because of desirable properties such as, for example, enhanced cellular uptake, enhanced affinity for nucleic acid target and increased stability in the presence of nucleases.

While antisense oligonucleotides are a preferred form of antisense compound, the present invention comprehends other oligomeric antisense compounds, including but not limited to oligonucleotide mimetics such as are described below. The antisense compounds in accordance with this invention preferably comprise from about 8 to about 30 nucleobases. Particularly preferred are antisense oligonucleotides comprising from about 8 to about 30 nucleobases (i.e. from about 8 to about 30 linked nucleosides). Preferred embodiments comprise at least an 8-nucleobase portion of a sequence of an antisense compound which inhibits expression of Survivin. As is known in the art, a nucleoside is a base-sugar combination. The base portion of the nucleoside is normally a heterocyclic base. The two most common classes of such heterocyclic bases are the purines and the pyrimidines. Nucleotides are nucleosides that further include a phosphate group covalently linked to the sugar portion of the nucleoside. For those nucleosides that include a pentofuranosyl sugar, the phosphate group can be linked to either the 2′, 3′ or 5′ hydroxyl moiety of the sugar. In forming oligonucleotides, the phosphate groups covalently link adjacent nucleosides to one another to form a linear polymeric compound. In turn the respective ends of this linear polymeric structure can be further joined to form a circular structure, however, open linear structures are generally preferred. Within the oligonucleotide structure, the phosphate groups are commonly referred to as forming the internucleoside backbone of the oligonucleotide. The normal linkage or backbone of RNA and DNA is a 3′ to 5′ phosphodiester linkage.

Specific examples of preferred antisense compounds useful in this invention include oligonucleotides containing modified backbones or non-natural internucleoside linkages. As defined in this specification, oligonucleotides having modified backbones include those that retain a phosphorus atom in the backbone and those that do not have a phosphorus atom in the backbone. For the purposes of this specification, and as sometimes referenced in the art, modified oligonucleotides that do not have a phosphorus atom in their internucleoside backbone can also be considered to be oligonucleosides.

Preferred modified oligonucleotide backbones include, for example, phosphorothioates, chiral phosphorothioates, phosphorodithioates, phosphotriesters, aminoalkylphosphotriesters, methyl and other alkyl phosphonates including 3′-alkylene phosphonates and chiral phosphonates, phosphinates, phosphoramidates including 3′-amino phosphoramidate and aminoalkylphosphoramidates, thionophosphoramidates, thionoalkylphosphonates, thionoalkylphosphotriesters, and boranophosphates having normal 3′-5′ linkages, 2′-5′ linked analogs of these, and those having inverted polarity wherein the adjacent pairs of nucleoside units are linked 3′-5′ to 5′-3′ or 2′-5′ to 5′-2′. Various salts, mixed salts and free acid forms are also included.

Representative United States patents that teach the preparation of the above phosphorus-containing linkages include, but are not limited to, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,687,808; 4,469,863; 4,476,301; 5,023,243; 5,177,196; 5,188,897; 5,264,423; 5,276,019; 5,278,302; 5,286,717; 5,321,131; 5,399,676; 5,405,939; 5,453,496; 5,455,233; 5,466,677; 5,476,925; 5,519,126; 5,536,821; 5,541,306; 5,550,111; 5,563,253; 5,571,799; 5,587,361; and 5,625,050, each of which is herein incorporated by reference.

Preferred modified oligonucleotide backbones that do not include a phosphorus atom therein have backbones that are formed by short chain alkyl or cycloalkyl internucleoside linkages, mixed heteroatom and alkyl or cycloalkyl internucleoside linkages, or one or more short chain heteroatomic or heterocyclic internucleoside linkages. These include those having morpholino linkages (formed in part from the sugar portion of a nucleoside); siloxane backbones; sulfide, sulfoxide and sulfone backbones; formacetyl and thioformacetyl backbones; methylene formacetyl and thioformacetyl backbones; alkene containing backbones; sulfamate backbones; methyleneimino and methylenehydrazino backbones; sulfonate and sulfonamide backbones; amide backbones; and others having mixed N, O, S and CH₂ component parts. Representative United States patents that teach the preparation of the above oligonucleosides include, but are not limited to, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,034,506; 5,166,315; 5,185,444; 5,214,134; 5,216,141; 5,235,033; 5,264,562; 5,264,564; 5,405,938; 5,434,257; 5,466,677; 5,470,967; 5,489,677; 5,541,307; 5,561,225; 5,596,086; 5,602,240; 5,610,289; 5,602,240; 5,608,046; 5,610,289; 5,618,704; 5,623,070; 5,663,312; 5,633,360; 5,677,437; and 5,677,439, each of which is herein incorporated by reference.

In other preferred oligonucleotide mimetics, both the sugar and the internucleoside linkage, i.e., the backbone, of the nucleotide units are replaced with novel groups. The base units are maintained for hybridization with an appropriate nucleic acid target compound. One such oligomeric compound, an oligonucleotide mimetic that has been shown to have excellent hybridization properties, is referred to as a peptide nucleic acid (PNA). In PNA compounds, the sugar-backbone of an oligonucleotide is replaced with an amide containing backbone, in particular an aminoethylglycine backbone. The nucleobases are retained and are bound directly or indirectly to aza nitrogen atoms of the amide portion of the backbone. Representative United States patents that teach the preparation of PNA compounds include, but are not limited to, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,539,082; 5,714,331; and 5,719,262, each of which is herein incorporated by reference. Further teaching of PNA compounds can be found in Nielsen et al., Science, 1991, 254, 1497-1500.

Most preferred embodiments of the invention are oligonucleotides with phosphorothioate backbones and oligonucleosides with heteroatom backbones, and in particular —CH₂—NH—O—CH₂—, —CH₂—N (CH₃)—O—CH₂— [known as a methylene (methylimino) or MMI backbone], —CH₂—O—N(CH₃)—CH₂—, —CH₂—N(CH₃)—N(CH₃)—CH₂— and —O—N(CH₃)—CH₂—CH₂— [wherein the native phosphodiester backbone is represented as —O—P—O—CH₂—] of the above referenced U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,677, and the amide backbones of the above referenced U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,240. Also preferred are oligonucleotides having morpholino backbone structures of the above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,506.

Modified oligonucleotides may also contain one or more substituted sugar moieties. Preferred oligonucleotides comprise one of the following at the 2′ position: OH; F; O—, S—, or N-alkyl; O—, S—, or N-alkenyl; O—, S— or N-alkynyl; or O-alkyl-O-alkyl, wherein the alkyl, alkenyl and alkynyl may be substituted or unsubstituted C₁ to C₁₀ alkyl or C₂ to C₁₀ alkenyl and alkynyl. Particularly preferred are O[(CH₂)_(n)O]_(m)CH₃, O(CH₂)_(n)OCH₃, O(CH₂)_(n)NH₂, O(CH₂)_(n)CH₃, O(CH₂)_(n)ONH₂, and O(CH₂)_(n)ON[(CH₂)_(n)CH₃)]₂, where n and m are from 1 to about 10. Other preferred oligonucleotides comprise one of the following at the 2′ position: C₁ to C₁₀ lower alkyl, substituted lower alkyl, alkaryl, aralkyl, O-alkaryl or O-aralkyl, SH, SCH₃, OCN, Cl, Br, CN, CF₃, OCF₃, SOCH₃, SO₂CH₃, ONO₂, NO₂, N₃, NH₂, heterocycloalkyl, heterocycloalkaryl, aminoalkylamino, polyalkylamino, substituted silyl, an RNA cleaving group, a reporter group, an intercalator, a group for improving the pharmacokinetic properties of an oligonucleotide, or a group for improving the pharmacodynamic properties of an oligonucleotide, and other substituents having similar properties. A preferred modification includes 2′-methoxyethoxy (2′—O—CH₂CH₂OCH₃, also known as 2′-O-(2-methoxyethyl) or 2′-MOE) (Martin et al., Helv. Chim. Acta, 1995, 78, 486-504) i.e., an alkoxyalkoxy group. A further preferred modification includes 2′-dimethylaminooxyethoxy, i.e., a O(CH₂)₂ON(CH₃)₂ group, also known as 2′-DMAOE, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/016,520, filed on Jan. 30, 1998, which is commonly owned with the instant application and the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

Other preferred modifications include 2′-methoxy (2′-O—CH₃), 2′-aminopropoxy (2′-OCH₂CH₂CH₂NH₂) and 2′-fluoro (2′-F). Similar modifications may also be made at other positions on the oligonucleotide, particularly the 3′ position of the sugar on the 3′ terminal nucleotide or in 2′-5′ linked oligonucleotides and the 5′ position of 5′ terminal nucleotide. Oligonucleotides may also have sugar mimetics such as cyclobutyl moieties in place of the pentofuranosyl sugar. Representative United States patents that teach the preparation of such modified sugar structures include, but are not limited to, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,981,957; 5,118,800; 5,319,080; 5,359,044; 5,393,878; 5,446,137; 5,466,786; 5,514,785; 5,519,134; 5,567,811; 5,576,427; 5,591,722; 5,597,909; 5,610,300; 5,627,0531 5,639,873; 5,646,265; 5,658,873; 5,670,633; and 5,700,920, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Oligonucleotides may also include nucleobase (often referred to in the art simply as “base”) modifications or substitutions. As used herein, “unmodified” or “natural” nucleobases include the purine bases adenine (A) and guanine (G), and the pyrimidine bases thymine (T), cytosine (C) and uracil (U). Modified nucleobases include other synthetic and natural nucleobases such as 5-methylcytosine (5-me-C), 5-hydroxymethyl cytosine, xanthine, hypoxanthine, 2-aminoadenine, 6-methyl and other alkyl derivatives of adenine and guanine, 2-propyl and other alkyl derivatives of adenine and guanine, 2-thiouracil, 2-thiothymine and 2-thiocytosine, 5-halouracil and cytosine, 5-propynyl uracil and cytosine, 6-azo uracil, cytosine and thymine, 5-uracil (pseudouracil), 4-thiouracil, 8-halo, 8-amino, 8-thiol, 8-thioalkyl, 8-hydroxyl and other 8-substituted adenines and guanines, 5-halo particularly 5-bromo, 5-trifluoromethyl and other 5-substituted uracils and cytosines, 7-methylguanine and 7-methyladenine, 8-azaguanine and 8-azaadenine, 7-deazaguanine and 7-deazaadenine and 3-deazaguanine and 3-deazaadenine. Further nucleobases include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,808, those disclosed in The Concise Encyclopedia Of Polymer Science And Engineering, pages 858-859, Kroschwitz, J. I., ed. John Wiley & Sons, 1990, those disclosed by Englisch et al., Angewandte Chemie, International Edition, 1991, 30, 613, and those disclosed by Sanghvi, Y. S., Chapter 15, Antisense Research and Applications, pages 289-302, Crooke, S. T. and Lebleu, B., ed., CRC Press, 1993. Certain of these nucleobases are particularly useful for increasing the binding affinity of the oligomeric compounds of the invention. These include 5-substituted pyrimidines, 6-azapyrimidines and N-2, N-6 and O-6 substituted purines, including 2-aminopropyl-adenine, 5-propynyluracil and 5-propynylcytosine. 5-methylcytosine substitutions have been shown to increase nucleic acid duplex stability by 0.6-1.2EC (Sanghvi, Y. S., Crooke, S. T. and Lebleu, B., eds., Antisense Research and Applications, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1993, pp. 276-278) and are presently preferred base substitutions, even more particularly when combined with 2′-O-methoxyethyl sugar modifications.

Representative United States patents that teach the preparation of certain of the above noted modified nucleobases as well as other modified nucleobases include, but are not limited to, the above noted U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,808, as well as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,845,205; 5,130,302; 5,134,066; 5,175,273; 5,367,066; 5,432,272; 5,457,187; 5,459,255; 5,484,908; 5,502,177; 5,525,711; 5,552,540; 5,587,469; 5,594,121, 5,596,091; 5,614,617; 5,681,941; and 5,750,692, each of which is herein incorporated by reference.

Another modification of the oligonucleotides of the invention involves chemically linking to the oligonucleotide one or more moieties or conjugates which enhance the activity, cellular distribution or cellular uptake of the oligonucleotide. Such moieties include but are not limited to lipid moieties such as a cholesterol moiety (Letsinger et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1989, 86, 6553-6556), cholic acid (Manoharan et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem. Let., 1994, 4, 1053-1060), a thioether, e.g., hexyl-S-tritylthiol (Manoharan et al., Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 1992, 660, 306-309; Manoharan et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem. Let., 1993, 3, 2765-2770), a thiocholesterol (Oberhauser et al., Nucl. Acids Res., 1992, 20, 533-538), an aliphatic chain, e.g., dodecandiol or undecyl residues (Saison-Behmoaras et al., EMBO J., 1991, 10, 1111-1118; Kabanov et al., FEBS Lett., 1990, 259, 327-330; Svinarchuk et al., Biochimie, 1993, 75, 49-54), a phospholipid, e.g., di-hexadecyl-rac-glycerol or triethyl-ammonium 1,2-di-O-hexadecyl-rac-glycero-3-H-phosphonate (Manoharan et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 1995, 36, 3651-3654; Shea et al., Nucl. Acids Res., 1990, 18, 3777-3783), a polyamine or a polyethylene glycol chain (Manoharan et al., Nucleosides & Nucleotides, 1995, 14, 969-973), or adamantane acetic acid (Manoharan et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 1995, 36, 3651-3654), a palmityl moiety (Mishra et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 1995, 1264, 229-237), or an octadecylamine or hexylamino-carbonyl-oxycholesterol moiety (Crooke et al., J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., 1996, 277, 923-937.

Representative United States patents that teach the preparation of such oligonucleotide conjugates include, but are not limited to, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,828,979; 4,948,882; 5,218,105; 5,525,465; 5,541,313; 5,545,730; 5,552,538; 5,578,717, 5,580,731; 5,580,731; 5,591,584; 5,109,124; 5,118,802; 5,138,045; 5,414,077; 5,486,603; 5,512,439; 5,578,718; 5,608,046; 4,587,044; 4,605,735; 4,667,025; 4,762,779; 4,789,737; 4,824,941; 4,835,263; 4,876,335; 4,904,582; 4,958,013; 5,082,830; 5,112,963; 5,214,136; 5,082,830; 5,112,963; 5,214,136; 5,245,022; 5,254,469; 5,258,506; 5,262,536; 5,272,250; 5,292,873; 5,317,098; 5,371,241, 5,391,723; 5,416,203, 5,451,463; 5,510,475; 5,512,667; 5,514,785; 5,565,552; 5,567,810; 5,574,142; 5,585,481; 5,587,371; 5,595,726; 5,597,696; 5,599,923; 5,599,928 and 5,688,941, each of which is herein incorporated by reference.

It is not necessary for all positions in a given compound to be uniformly modified, and in fact more than one of the aforementioned modifications may be incorporated in a single compound or even at a single nucleoside within an oligonucleotide. The present invention also includes antisense compounds which are chimeric compounds. “Chimeric” antisense compounds or “chimeras,” in the context of this invention, are antisense compounds, particularly oligonucleotides, which contain two or more chemically distinct regions, each made up of at least one monomer unit, i.e., a nucleotide in the case of an oligonucleotide compound. These oligonucleotides typically contain at least one region wherein the oligonucleotide is modified so as to confer upon the oligonucleotide increased resistance to nuclease degradation, increased cellular uptake, and/or increased binding affinity for the target nucleic acid. An additional region of the oligonucleotide may serve as a substrate for enzymes capable of cleaving RNA:DNA or RNA:RNA hybrids. By way of example, RNase H is a cellular endonuclease which cleaves the RNA strand of an RNA:DNA duplex. Activation of RNase H, therefore, results in cleavage of the RNA target, thereby greatly enhancing the efficiency of oligonucleotide inhibition of gene expression. Consequently, comparable results can often be obtained with shorter oligonucleotides when chimeric oligonucleotides are used, compared to phosphorothioate deoxyoligonucleotides hybridizing to the same target region. Cleavage of the RNA target can be routinely detected by gel electrophoresis and, if necessary, associated nucleic acid hybridization techniques known in the art.

Chimeric antisense compounds of the invention may be formed as composite structures of two or more oligonucleotides, modified oligonucleotides, oligonucleosides and/or oligonucleotide mimetics as described above. Such compounds have also been referred to in the art as hybrids or gapmers. Representative United States patents that teach the preparation of such hybrid structures include, but are not limited to, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,013,830; 5,149,797; 5,220,007; 5,256,775; 5,366,878; 5,403,711; 5,491,133; 5,565,350; 5,623,065; 5,652,355; 5,652,356; and 5,700,922, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The antisense compounds used in accordance with this invention may be conveniently and routinely made through the well-known technique of solid phase synthesis. Equipment for such synthesis is sold by several vendors including, for example, Applied Biosystems (Foster City, Calif.). Any other means for such synthesis known in the art may additionally or alternatively be employed. It is well known to use similar techniques to prepare oligonucleotides such as the phosphorothioates and alkylated derivatives.

The antisense compounds of the invention are synthesized in vitro and do not include antisense compositions of biological origin, or genetic vector constructs designed to direct the in vivo synthesis of antisense molecules. The compounds of the invention may also be admixed, encapsulated, conjugated or otherwise associated with other molecules, molecule structures or mixtures of compounds, as for example, liposomes, receptor targeted molecules, oral, rectal, topical or other formulations, for assisting in uptake, distribution and/or absorption. Representative United States patents that teach the preparation of such uptake, distribution and/or absorption assisting formulations include, but are not limited to, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,108,921; 5,354,844; 5,416,016; 5,459,127; 5,521,291; 5,543,158; 5,547,932; 5,583,020; 5,591,721; 4,426,330; 4,534,899; 5,013,556; 5,108,921; 5,213,804; 5,227,170; 5,264,221; 5,356,633; 5,395,619; 5,416,016; 5,417,978; 5,462,854; 5,469,854; 5,512,295; 5,527,528; 5,534,259; 5,543,152; 5,556,948; 5,580,575; and 5,595,756, each of which is herein incorporated by reference.

The antisense compounds of the invention encompass any pharmaceutically acceptable salts, esters, or salts of such esters, or any other compound which, upon administration to an animal including a human, is capable of providing (directly or indirectly) the biologically active metabolite or residue thereof. Accordingly, for example, the disclosure is also drawn to prodrugs and pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compounds of the invention, pharmaceutically acceptable salts of such prodrugs, and other bioequivalents.

The term “prodrug” indicates a therapeutic agent that is prepared in an inactive form that is converted to an active form (i.e., drug) within the body or cells thereof by the action of endogenous enzymes or other chemicals and/or conditions. In particular, prodrug versions of the oligonucleotides of the invention are prepared as SATE [(S-acetyl-2-thioethyl) phosphate] derivatives according to the methods disclosed in WO 93/24510 to Gosselin et al., published Dec. 9, 1993 or in WO 94/26764 to Imbach et al.

The term “pharmaceutically acceptable salts” refers to physiologically and pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compounds of the invention: i.e., salts that retain the desired biological activity of the parent compound and do not impart undesired toxicological effects thereto.

Pharmaceutically acceptable base addition salts are formed with metals or amines, such as alkali and alkaline earth metals or organic amines. Examples of metals used as cations are sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and the like. Examples of suitable amines are N,N′-dibenzylethylenediamine, chloroprocaine, choline, diethanolamine, dicyclohexylamine, ethylenediamine, N-methylglucamine, and procaine (see, for example, Berge et al., “Pharmaceutical Salts,” J. of Pharma Sci., 1977, 66, 1-19). The base addition salts of said acidic compounds are prepared by contacting the free acid form with a sufficient amount of the desired base to produce the salt in the conventional manner. The free acid form may be regenerated by contacting the salt form with an acid and isolating the free acid in the conventional manner. The free acid forms differ from their respective salt forms somewhat in certain physical properties such as solubility in polar solvents, but otherwise the salts are equivalent to their respective free acid for purposes of the present invention. As used herein, a “pharmaceutical addition salt” includes a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of an acid form of one of the components of the compositions of the invention. These include organic or inorganic acid salts of the amines. Preferred acid salts are the hydrochlorides, acetates, salicylates, nitrates and phosphates. Other suitable pharmaceutically acceptable salts are well known to those skilled in the art and include basic salts of a variety of inorganic and organic acids, such as, for example, with inorganic acids, such as for example hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid, sulfuric acid or phosphoric acid; with organic carboxylic, sulfonic, sulfo or phospho acids or N-substituted sulfamic acids, for example acetic acid, propionic acid, glycolic acid, succinic acid, maleic acid, hydroxymaleic acid, methylmaleic acid, fumaric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, lactic acid, oxalic acid, gluconic acid, glucaric acid, glucuronic acid, citric acid, benzoic acid, cinnamic acid, mandelic acid, salicylic acid, 4-aminosalicylic acid, 2-phenoxybenzoic acid, 2-acetoxybenzoic acid, embonic acid, nicotinic acid or isonicotinic acid; and with amino acids, such as the 20 alpha-amino acids involved in the synthesis of proteins in nature, for example glutamic acid or aspartic acid, and also with phenylacetic acid, methanesulfonic acid, ethanesulfonic acid, 2-hydroxyethanesulfonic acid, ethane-1,2-disulfonic acid, benzenesulfonic acid, 4-methylbenzenesulfoc acid, naphthalene-2-sulfonic acid, naphthalene-1,5-disulfonic acid, 2- or 3-phosphoglycerate, glucose-6-phosphate, N-cyclohexylsulfamic acid (with the formation of cyclamates), or with other acid organic compounds, such as ascorbic acid. Pharmaceutically acceptable salts of compounds may also be prepared with a pharmaceutically acceptable cation. Suitable pharmaceutically acceptable cations are well known to those skilled in the art and include alkaline, alkaline earth, ammonium and quaternary ammonium cations. Carbonates or hydrogen carbonates are also possible.

For oligonucleotides, preferred examples of pharmaceutically acceptable salts include but are not limited to (a) salts formed with cations such as sodium, potassium, ammonium, magnesium, calcium, polyamines such as spermine and spermidine, etc.; (b) acid addition salts formed with inorganic acids, for example hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, nitric acid and the like; (c) salts formed with organic acids such as, for example, acetic acid, oxalic acid, tartaric acid, succinic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, gluconic acid, citric acid, malic acid, ascorbic acid, benzoic acid, tannic acid, palmitic acid, alginic acid, polyglutamic acid, naphthalenesulfonic acid, methanesulfonic acid, p-toluenesulfonic acid, naphthalenedisulfonic acid, polygalacturonic acid, and the like; and (d) salts formed from elemental anions such as chlorine, bromine, and iodine.

The antisense compounds of the present invention can be utilized for diagnostics, therapeutics, prophylaxis and as research reagents and kits. For therapeutics, an animal, preferably a human, suspected of having a disease or disorder which can be treated by modulating the expression of Survivin is treated by administering antisense compounds in accordance with this invention. The compounds of the invention can be utilized in pharmaceutical compositions by adding an effective amount of an antisense compound to a suitable pharmaceutically acceptable diluent or carrier. Use of the antisense compounds and methods of the invention may also be useful prophylactically, e.g., to prevent or delay infection, inflammation or tumor formation, for example.

The antisense compounds of the invention are useful for research and diagnostics, because these compounds hybridize to nucleic acids encoding Survivin, enabling sandwich and other assays to easily be constructed to exploit this fact.

Hybridization of the antisense oligonucleotides of the invention with a nucleic acid encoding Survivin can be detected by means known in the art. Such means may include conjugation of an enzyme to the oligonucleotide, radiolabelling of the oligonucleotide or any other suitable detection means. Kits using such detection means for detecting the level of Survivin in a sample may also be prepared.

The present invention also includes pharmaceutical compositions and formulations which include the antisense compounds of the invention. The pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention may be administered in a number of ways depending upon whether local or systemic treatment is desired and upon the area to be treated. Administration may be topical (including ophthalmic and to mucous membranes including vaginal and rectal delivery), pulmonary, e.g., by inhalation or insufflation of powders or aerosols, including by nebulizer; intratracheal, intranasal, epidermal, intradermal and transdermal, oral or parenteral. Parenteral administration includes intravenous, intraarterial, subcutaneous, intraperitoneal or intramuscular injection, drip or infusion; or intracranial, e.g., intrathecal or intraventricular, administration. Oligonucleotides with at least one 2′-O-methoxyethyl modification are believed to be particularly useful for oral administration.

Pharmaceutical compositions and formulations for topical administration may include transdermal patches, ointments, lotions, creams, gels, drops, suppositories, sprays, liquids and powders. Conventional pharmaceutical carriers, aqueous, powder or oily bases, thickeners and the like may be necessary or desirable. Coated condoms, gloves and the like may also be useful.

Compositions and formulations for oral administration include powders or granules, suspensions or solutions in water or non-aqueous media, capsules, sachets or tablets. Thickeners, flavoring agents, diluents, emulsifiers, dispersing aids or binders may be desirable.

Compositions and formulations for parenteral, intrathecal or intraventricular administration may include sterile aqueous solutions which may also contain buffers, diluents and other suitable additives such as, but not limited to, penetration enhancers, carrier compounds and other pharmaceutically acceptable carriers or excipients.

Pharmaceutical compositions and/or formulations comprising the oligonucleotides of the present invention may also include penetration enhancers in order to enhance the alimentary delivery of the oligonucleotides. Penetration enhancers may be classified as belonging to one of five broad categories, i.e., fatty acids, bile salts, chelating agents, surfactants and non-surfactants (Lee et al., Critical Reviews in Therapeutic Drug Carrier Systems, 1991, 8, 91-192; Muranishi, Critical Reviews in Therapeutic Drug Carrier Systems, 1990, 7:1, 1-33). One or more penetration enhancers from one or more of these broad categories may be included.

Various fatty acids and their derivatives which act as penetration enhancers include, for example, oleic acid, lauric acid, capric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, dicaprate, tricaprate, recinleate, monoolein (a.k.a. 1-monooleoyl-rac-glycerol), dilaurin, caprylic acid, arichidonic acid, glyceryl 1-monocaprate, 1-dodecylazacycloheptan-2-one, acylcarnitines, acylcholines, mono- and di-glycerides and physiologically acceptable salts thereof (i.e., oleate, laurate, caprate, myristate, palmitate, stearate, linoleate, etc.) (Lee et al., Critical Reviews in Therapeutic Drug Carrier Systems, 1991, 8:2, 91-192; Muranishi, Critical Reviews in Therapeutic Drug Carrier Systems, 1990, 7:1, 1-33; El-Hariri et al., J. Pharm. Pharmacol., 1992, 44, 651-654). Examples of some presently preferred fatty acids are sodium caprate and sodium laurate, used singly or in combination at concentrations of 0.5 to 5%.

The physiological roles of bile include the facilitation of dispersion and absorption of lipids and fat-soluble vitamins (Brunton, Chapter 38 In: Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 9th Ed., Hardman et al., eds., McGraw-Hill, New York, N.Y., 1996, pages 934-935). Various natural bile salts, and their synthetic derivatives, act as penetration enhancers. Thus, the term “bile salt” includes any of the naturally occurring components of bile as well as any of their synthetic derivatives. Examples of presently preferred bile salts are chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) and/or ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), generally used at concentrations of 0.5 to 2%.

Complex formulations comprising one or more penetration enhancers may be used. For example, bile salts may be used in combination with fatty acids to make complex formulations. Preferred combinations include CDCA combined with sodium caprate or sodium laurate (generally 0.5 to 5%).

Chelating agents include, but are not limited to, disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA), citric acid, salicylates (e.g., sodium salicylate, 5-methoxysalicylate and homovanilate), N-acyl derivatives of collagen, laureth-9 and N-amino acyl derivatives of beta-diketones (enamines)(Lee et al., Critical Reviews in Therapeutic Drug Carrier Systems, 1991, 8:2, 92-192; Muranishi, Critical Reviews in Therapeutic Drug Carrier Systems, 1990, 7:1, 1-33; Buur et al., J. Control Rel., 1990, 14, 43-51). Chelating agents have the added advantage of also serving as DNase inhibitors.

Surfactants include, for example, sodium lauryl sulfate, polyoxyethylene-9-lauryl ether and polyoxyethylene-20-cetyl ether (Lee et al., Critical Reviews in Therapeutic Drug Carrier Systems, 1991, 8:2, 92-191); and perfluorochemical emulsions, such as FC-43 (Takahashi et al., J. Pharm. Pharmacol., 1988, 40, 252-257).

Non-surfactants include, for example, unsaturated cyclic ureas, 1-alkyl- and 1-alkenylazacyclo-alkanone derivatives (Lee et al., Critical Reviews in Therapeutic Drug Carrier Systems, 1991, 8:2, 92-191); and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents such as diclofenac sodium, indomethacin and phenylbutazone (Yamashita et al., J. Pharm. Pharmacol., 1987, 39, 621-626).

As used herein, “carrier compound” refers to a nucleic acid, or analog thereof, which is inert (i.e., does not possess biological activity per se) but is recognized as a nucleic acid by in vivo processes that reduce the bioavailability of a nucleic acid having biological activity by, for example, degrading the biologically active nucleic acid or promoting its removal from circulation. The coadministration of a nucleic acid and a carrier compound, typically with an excess of the latter substance, can result in a substantial reduction of the amount of nucleic acid recovered in the liver, kidney or other extracirculatory reservoirs, presumably due to competition between the carrier compound and the nucleic acid for a common receptor. For example, the recovery of a partially phosphorothioated oligonucleotide in hepatic tissue is reduced when it is coadministered with polyinosinic acid, dextran sulfate, polycytidic acid or 4-acetamido-4′-isothiocyano-stilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid (Miyao et al., Antisense Res. Dev., 1995, 5, 115-121; Takakura et al., Antisense & Nucl. Acid Drug Dev., 1996, 6, 177-183).

In contrast to a carrier compound, a “pharmaceutically acceptable carrier” (excipient) is a pharmaceutically acceptable solvent, suspending agent or any other pharmacologically inert vehicle for delivering one or more nucleic acids to an animal. The pharmaceutically acceptable carrier may be liquid or solid and is selected with the planned manner of administration in mind so as to provide for the desired bulk, consistency, etc., when combined with a nucleic acid and the other components of a given pharmaceutical composition. Typical pharmaceutically acceptable carriers include, but are not limited to, binding agents (e.g., pregelatinized maize starch, polyvinyl-pyrrolidone or hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, etc.); fillers (e.g., lactose and other sugars, microcrystalline cellulose, pectin, gelatin, calcium sulfate, ethyl cellulose, polyacrylates or calcium hydrogen phosphate, etc.); lubricants (e.g., magnesium stearate, talc, silica, colloidal silicon dioxide, stearic acid, metallic stearates, hydrogenated vegetable oils, corn starch, polyethylene glycols, sodium benzoate, sodium acetate, etc.); disintegrates (e.g., starch, sodium starch glycolate, etc.); or wetting agents (e.g., sodium lauryl sulphate, etc.). Sustained release oral delivery systems and/or enteric coatings for orally administered dosage forms are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,704,295; 4,556,552; 4,309,406; and 4,309,404.

The compositions of the present invention may additionally contain other adjunct components conventionally found in pharmaceutical compositions, at their art-established usage levels. Thus, for example, the compositions may contain additional compatible pharmaceutically-active materials such as, e.g., antipruritics, astringents, local anesthetics or anti-inflammatory agents, or may contain additional materials useful in physically formulating various dosage forms of the composition of present invention, such as dyes, flavoring agents, preservatives, antioxidants, opacifiers, thickening agents and stabilizers. However, such materials, when added, should not unduly interfere with the biological activities of the components of the compositions of the invention.

Regardless of the method by which the antisense compounds of the invention are introduced into a patient, colloidal dispersion systems may be used as delivery vehicles to enhance the in vivo stability of the compounds and/or to target the compounds to a particular organ, tissue or cell type. Colloidal dispersion systems include, but are not limited to, macromolecule complexes, nanocapsules, microspheres, beads and lipid-based systems including oil-in-water emulsions, micelles, mixed micelles, liposomes and lipid:oligonucleotide complexes of uncharacterized structure. A preferred colloidal dispersion system is a plurality of liposomes. Liposomes are microscopic spheres having an aqueous core surrounded by one or more outer layer(s) made up of lipids arranged in a bilayer configuration (see, generally, Chonn et al., Current Op. Biotech., 1995, 6, 698-708).

Certain embodiments of the invention provide for liposomes and other compositions containing (a) one or more antisense compounds and (b) one or more other chemotherapeutic agents which function by a non-antisense mechanism. Examples of such chemotherapeutic agents include but are not limited to daunorubicin, daunomycin, dactinomycin, doxorubicin, epirubicin, idarubicin, esorubicin, bleomycin, mafosfamide, ifosfamide, cytosine arabinoside, bis-chloroethylnitrosurea, busulfan, mitomycin C, actinomycin D, mithramycin, prednisone, hydroxyprogesterone, testosterone, tamoxifen, dacarbazine, procarbazine, hexamethylmelamine, pentamethylmelamine, mitoxantrone, amsacrine, chlorambucil, methylcyclohexylnitrosurea, nitrogen mustards, melphalan, cyclophosphamide, 6-mercaptopurine, 6-thioguanine, cytarabine, 5-azacytidine, hydroxyurea, deoxycoformycin, 4-hydroxyperoxycyclophosphoramide, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (5-FUdR), methotrexate (MTX), colchicine, taxol, vincristine, vinblastine, etoposide (VP-16), trimetrexate, irinotecan, topotecan, gemcitabine, teniposide, cisplatin and diethylstilbestrol (DES). See, generally, The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, 15th Ed. 1987, pp. 1206-1228, Berkow et al., eds., Rahway, N.J. When used with the compounds of the invention, such chemotherapeutic agents may be used individually (e.g., 5-FU and oligonucleotide), sequentially (e.g., 5-FU and oligonucleotide for a period of time followed by MTX and oligonucleotide), or in combination with one or more other such chemotherapeutic agents (e.g., 5-FU, MTX and oligonucleotide, or 5-FU, radiotherapy and oligonucleotide).

Anti-inflammatory drugs, including but not limited to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and corticosteroids, and antiviral drugs, including but not limited to ribivirin, vidarabine, acyclovir and ganciclovir, may also be combined in compositions of the invention. See, generally, The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, 15th Ed., Berkow et al., eds., 1987, Rahway, N.J., pages 2499-2506 and 46-49, respectively). Other non-antisense chemotherapeutic agents are also within the scope of this invention. Two or more combined compounds may be used together or sequentially.

In another related embodiment, compositions of the invention may contain one or more antisense compounds, particularly oligonucleotides, targeted to a first nucleic acid and one or more additional antisense compounds targeted to a second nucleic acid target. Examples of antisense oligonucleotides include, but are not limited to, those directed to the following targets as disclosed in the indicated U.S. Patents, or pending U.S. applications, which are commonly owned with the instant application and are hereby incorporated by reference, or the indicated published PCT applications: raf (WO 96/39415, WO 95/32987 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,563,255 and 5,656,612), the p120 nucleolar antigen (WO 93/17125 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,656,743), protein kinase C (WO 95/02069, WO 95/03833 and WO 93/19203), multidrug resistance-associated protein (WO 95/10938 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,239), subunits of transcription factor AP-1 (pending application U.S. Ser. No. 08/837,201, filed Apr. 14, 1997), Jun kinases (pending application U.S. Ser. No. 08/910,629, filed Aug. 13, 1997), MDR-1 (multidrug resistance glycoprotein; pending application U.S. Ser. No. 08/731,199, filed Sep. 30, 1997), HIV (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,166,195 and 5,591,600), herpesvirus (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,248,670 and 5,514,577), cytomegalovirus (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,442,049 and 5,591,720), papillomavirus (U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,189), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) (U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,788), 5-lipoxygenase (U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,114) and influenza virus (U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,767). Two or more combined compounds may be used together or sequentially.

The formulation of therapeutic compositions and their subsequent administration is believed to be within the skill of those in the art. Dosing is dependent on severity and responsiveness of the disease state to be treated, with the course of treatment lasting from several days to several months, or until a cure is effected or a diminution of the disease state is achieved. Optimal dosing schedules can be calculated from measurements of drug accumulation in the body of the patient. Persons of ordinary skill can easily determine optimum dosages, dosing methodologies and repetition rates. Optimum dosages may vary depending on the relative potency of individual oligonucleotides, and can generally be estimated based on EC₅₀s found to be effective in in vitro and in vivo animal models. In general, dosage is from 0.01 μg to 100 g per kg of body weight, and may be given once or more daily, weekly, monthly or yearly, or even once every 2 to 20 years. Persons of ordinary skill in the art can easily estimate repetition rates for dosing based on measured residence times and concentrations of the drug in bodily fluids or tissues. Following successful treatment, it may be desirable to have the patient undergo maintenance therapy to prevent the recurrence of the disease state, wherein the oligonucleotide is administered in maintenance doses, ranging from 0.01 μg to 100 g per kg of body weight, once or more daily, to once every 20 years.

While the present invention has been described with specificity in accordance with certain of its preferred embodiments, the following examples serve only to illustrate the invention and are not intended to limit the same.

EXAMPLES Example 1

Nucleoside Phosphoramidites for Oligonucleotide Synthesis Deoxy and 2′-alkoxy Amidites

2′-Deoxy and 2′-methoxy beta-cyanoethyldiisopropyl phosphoramidites were purchased from commercial sources (e.g. Chemgenes, Needham, Mass. or Glen Research, Inc. Sterling, Va.). Other 2′-O-alkoxy substituted nucleoside amidites are prepared as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,506,351, herein incorporated by reference. For oligonucleotides synthesized using 2′-alkoxy amidites, the standard cycle for unmodified oligonucleotides was utilized, except the wait step after pulse delivery of tetrazole and base was increased to 360 seconds.

Oligonucleotides containing 5-methyl-2′-deoxycytidine (5-Me-C) nucleotides were synthesized according to published methods [Sanghvi, et. al., Nucleic Acids Research, 1993, 21, 3197-3203] using commercially available phosphoramidites (Glen Research, Sterling Va. or ChemGenes, Needham, Mass.).

2′-Fluoro Amidites

2′-Fluorodeoxyadenosine Amidites

2′-fluoro oligonucleotides were synthesized as described previously [Kawasaki, et. al., J. Med. Chem., 1993, 36, 831-841] and U.S. Pat. No. 5,670,633, herein incorporated by reference. Briefly, the protected nucleoside N6-benzoyl-2′-deoxy-2′-fluoroadenosine was synthesized utilizing commercially available 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine as starting material and by modifying literature procedures whereby the 2′-alpha-fluoro atom is introduced by a S_(N)2-displacement of a 2′-beta-trityl group. Thus N6-benzoyl-9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine was selectively protected in moderate yield as the 3′, 5′-ditetrahydropyranyl (THP) intermediate. Deprotection of the THP and N6-benzoyl groups was accomplished using standard methodologies and standard methods were used to obtain the 5′-dimethoxytrityl-(DMT) and 5′-DMT-3′-phosphoramidite intermediates.

2′-Fluorodeoxyguanosine

The synthesis of 2′-deoxy-2′-fluoroguanosine was accomplished using tetraisopropyldisiloxanyl (TPDS) protected 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosylguanine as starting material, and conversion to the intermediate diisobutyrylarabinofuranosylguanosine. Deprotection of the TPDS group was followed by protection of the hydroxyl group with THP to give diisobutyryl di-THP protected arabinofuranosylguanine.

Selective O-deacylation and triflation was followed by treatment of the crude product with fluoride, then deprotection of the THP groups. Standard methodologies were used to obtain the 5′-DMT- and 5′-DMT-3′-phosphoramidites.

2′-Fluorouridine

Synthesis of 2′-deoxy-2′-fluorouridine was accomplished by the modification of a literature procedure in which 2,2′-anhydro-1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyluracil was treated with 70% hydrogen fluoride-pyridine. Standard procedures were used to obtain the 5′-DMT and 5′-DMT-3′phosphoramidites.

2′-Fluorodeoxycytidine

2′-deoxy-2′-fluorocytidine was synthesized via amination of 2′-deoxy-2′-fluorouridine, followed by selective protection to give N4-benzoyl-2′-deoxy-2′-fluorocytidine. Standard procedures were used to obtain the 5′-DMT and 5′-DMT-3′phosphoramidites.

2′-O-(2-Methoxyethyl) Modified Amidites

2′-O-Methoxyethyl-substituted nucleoside amidites are prepared as follows, or alternatively, as per the methods of Martin, P., Helvetica Chimica Acta, 1995, 78, 486-504.

2,2′-Anhydro[1-(beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)-5-methyluridine]

5-Methyluridine (ribosylthymine, commercially available through Yamasa, Choshi, Japan) (72.0 g, 0.279 M), diphenyl-carbonate (90.0 g, 0.420 M) and sodium bicarbonate (2.0 g, 0.024 M) were added to DMF (300 mL). The mixture was heated to reflux, with stirring, allowing the evolved carbon dioxide gas to be released in a controlled manner. After 1 hour, the slightly darkened solution was concentrated under reduced pressure. The resulting syrup was poured into diethylether (2.5 L), with stirring. The product formed a gum. The ether was decanted and the residue was dissolved in a minimum amount of methanol (ca. 400 mL). The solution was poured into fresh ether (2.5 L) to yield a stiff gum. The ether was decanted and the gum was dried in a vacuum oven (60° C. at 1 mm Hg for 24 h) to give a solid that was crushed to a light tan powder (57 g, 85% crude yield). The NMR spectrum was consistent with the structure, contaminated with phenol as its sodium salt (ca. 5%). The material was used as is for further reactions (or it can be purified further by column chromatography using a gradient of methanol in ethyl acetate (10-25%) to give a white solid, mp 222-4° C.).

2′-O-Methoxyethyl-5-methyluridine

2,2′-Anhydro-5-methyluridine (195 g, 0.81 M), tris(2-methoxyethyl)borate (231 g, 0.98 M) and 2-methoxyethanol (1.2 L) were added to a 2 L stainless steel pressure vessel and placed in a pre-heated oil bath at 160° C. After heating for 48 hours at 155-160° C., the vessel was opened and the solution evaporated to dryness and triturated with MeOH (200 mL). The residue was suspended in hot acetone (1 L). The insoluble salts were filtered, washed with acetone (150 mL) and the filtrate evaporated. The residue (280 g) was dissolved in CH₃CN (600 mL) and evaporated. A silica gel column (3 kg) was packed in CH₂Cl₂/Acetone/MeOH (20:5:3) containing 0.5% Et₃NH. The residue was dissolved in CH₂Cl₂ (250 mL) and adsorbed onto silica (150 g) prior to loading onto the column. The product was eluted with the packing solvent to give 160 g (63%) of product. Additional material was obtained by reworking impure fractions.

2′-O-Methoxyethyl-5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-5-methyluridine

2′-O-Methoxyethyl-5-methyluridine (160 g, 0.506 M) was co-evaporated with pyridine (250 mL) and the dried residue dissolved in pyridine (1.3 L). A first aliquot of dimethoxytrityl chloride (94.3 g, 0.278 M) was added and the mixture stirred at room temperature for one hour. A second aliquot of dimethoxytrityl chloride (94.3 g, 0.278 M) was added and the reaction stirred for an additional one hour. Methanol (170 mL) was then added to stop the reaction. HPLC showed the presence of approximately 70% product. The solvent was evaporated and triturated with CH₃CN (200 mL). The residue was dissolved in CHCl₃ (1.5 L) and extracted with 2×500 mL of saturated NaHCO₃ and 2×500 mL of saturated NaCl. The organic phase was dried over Na₂SO₄, filtered and evaporated. 275 g of residue was obtained. The residue was purified on a 3.5 kg silica gel column, packed and eluted with EtOAc/Hexane/Acetone (5:5:1) containing 0.5% Et₃NH. The pure fractions were evaporated to give 164 g of product. Approximately 20 g additional was obtained from the impure fractions to give a total yield of 183 g (57%).

3′-O-Acetyl-2′-O-methoxyethyl-5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-5-methyluridine

2-O-Methoxyethyl-5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-5-methyluridine (106 g, 0.167 M), DMF/pyridine (750 mL of a 3:1 mixture prepared from 562 mL of DMF and 188 mL of pyridine) and acetic anhydride (24.38 mL, 0.258 M) were combined and stirred at room temperature for 24 hours. The reaction was monitored by tlc by first quenching the tlc sample with the addition of MeOH. Upon completion of the reaction, as judged by tlc, MeOH (50 mL) was added and the mixture evaporated at 35° C. The residue was dissolved in CHCl₃ (800 mL) and extracted with 2×200 mL of saturated sodium bicarbonate and 2×200 mL of saturated NaCl. The water layers were back extracted with 200 mL of CHCl₃. The combined organics were dried with sodium sulfate and evaporated to give 122 g of residue (approx. 90% product). The residue was purified on a 3.5 kg silica gel column and eluted using EtOAc/Hexane(4:1). Pure product fractions were evaporated to yield 96 g (84%). An additional 1.5 g was recovered from later fractions.

3′-O-Acetyl-2′-O-methoxyethyl-5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-5-methyl-4-triazoleuridine

A first solution was prepared by dissolving 3′-O-acetyl-2′-O-methoxyethyl-5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-5-methyluridine (96 g, 0.144 M) in CH₃CN (700 mL) and set aside.

Triethylamine (189 mL, 1.44 M) was added to a solution of triazole (90 g, 1.3 M) in CH₃CN (1 L), cooled to −5° C. and stirred for 0.5 hours using an overhead stirrer. POCl₃ was added dropwise, over a 30 minute period, to the stirred solution maintained at 0-10° C., and the resulting mixture stirred for an additional 2 hours. The first solution was added dropwise, over a 45 minute period, to the latter solution. The resulting reaction mixture was stored overnight in a cold room. Salts were filtered from the reaction mixture and the solution was evaporated. The residue was dissolved in EtOAc (1 L) and the insoluble solids were removed by filtration. The filtrate was washed with 1×300 mL of NaHCO₃ and 2×300 mL of saturated NaCl, dried over sodium sulfate and evaporated. The residue was triturated with EtOAc to give the title compound.

2′-O-Methoxyethyl-5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-5-methylcytidine

A solution of 3′-O-acetyl-2′-O-methoxyethyl-5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-5-methyl-4-triazoleuridine (103 g, 0.141 M) in dioxane (500 mL) and NH₄OH (30 mL) was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours. The dioxane solution was evaporated and the residue azeotroped with MeOH (2×200 mL). The residue was dissolved in MeOH (300 mL) and transferred to a 2 liter stainless steel pressure vessel. MeOH (400 mL) saturated with NH₃ gas was added and the vessel heated to 100EC for 2 hours (tlc showed complete conversion). The vessel contents were evaporated to dryness and the residue was dissolved in EtOAc (500 mL) and washed once with saturated NaCl (200 mL). The organics were dried over sodium sulfate and the solvent was evaporated to give 85 g (95%) of the title compound.

N4-Benzoyl-2′-O-methoxyethyl-5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-5-methylcytidine

2′-O-Methoxyethyl-5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-5-methylcytidine (85 g, 0.134 M) was dissolved in DMF (800 mL) and benzoic anhydride (37.2 g, 0.165 M) was added with stirring. After stirring for 3 hours, tlc showed the reaction to be approximately 95% complete. The solvent was evaporated and the residue azeotroped with MeOH (200 mL). The residue was dissolved in CHCl₃ (700 mL) and extracted with saturated NaHCO₃ (2×300 mL) and saturated NaCl (2×300 mL), dried over MgSO₄ and evaporated to give a residue (96 g). The residue was chromatographed on a 1.5 kg silica column using EtOAc/Hexane (1:1) containing 0.5% Et₃NH as the eluting solvent. The pure product fractions were evaporated to give 90 g (90%) of the title compound.

N4-Benzoyl-2′-O-methoxyethyl-5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-5-methylcytidine-3′-amidite

N4-Benzoyl-2′-O-methoxyethyl-5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-5-methylcytidine (74 g, 0.10 M) was dissolved in CH₂Cl₂ (1 L). Tetrazole diisopropylamine (7.1 g) and 2-cyanoethoxy-tetra-(isopropyl)phosphite (40.5 mL, 0.123 M) were added with stirring, under a nitrogen atmosphere. The resulting mixture was stirred for 20 hours at room temperature (tlc showed the reaction to be 95% complete). The reaction mixture was extracted with saturated NaHCO₃ (1×300 mL) and saturated NaCl (3×300 mL). The aqueous washes were back-extracted with CH₂Cl₂ (300 mL), and the extracts were combined, dried over MgSO₄ and concentrated. The residue obtained was chromatographed on a 1.5 kg silica column using EtOAc/Hexane (3:1) as the eluting solvent. The pure fractions were combined to give 90.6 g (87%) of the title compound.

2′-(Aminooxyethyl) Nucleoside Amidites and 2′-(dimethylaminooxyethyl) Nucleoside Amidites

Aminooxyethyl and dimethylaminooxyethyl amidites are prepared as per the methods of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/037,143, filed Feb. 14, 1998, and Ser. No. 09/016,520, filed Jan. 30, 1998, each of which is commonly owned with the instant application and is herein incorporated by reference.

Example 2

Oligonucleotide Synthesis

Unsubstituted and substituted phosphodiester (P═O) oligonucleotides are synthesized on an automated DNA synthesizer (Applied Biosystems model 380B) using standard phosphoramidite chemistry with oxidation by iodine.

Phosphorothioates (P═S) are synthesized as for the phosphodiester oligonucleotides except the standard oxidation bottle was replaced by 0.2 M solution of 3H-1,2-benzodithiole-3-one 1,1-dioxide in acetonitrile for the stepwise thiation of the phosphite linkages. The thiation wait step was increased to 68 sec and was followed by the capping step. After cleavage from the CPG column and deblocking in concentrated ammonium hydroxide at 55° C. (18 hours), the oligonucleotides were purified by precipitating twice with 2.5 volumes of ethanol from a 0.5 M NaCl solution. Phosphinate oligonucleotides are prepared as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,508,270, herein incorporated by reference.

Alkyl phosphonate oligonucleotides are prepared as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,863, herein incorporated by reference.

3′-Deoxy-3′-methylene phosphonate oligonucleotides are prepared as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,610,289 or 5,625,050, herein incorporated by reference.

Phosphoramidite oligonucleotides are prepared as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,775 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,878, herein incorporated by reference.

Alkylphosphonothioate oligonucleotides are prepared as described in published PCT applications PCT/US94/00902 and PCT/US93/06976 (published as WO 94/17093 and WO 94/02499, respectively), herein incorporated by reference. 3′-Deoxy-3′-amino phosphoramidate oligonucleotides are prepared as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,925, herein incorporated by reference.

Phosphotriester oligonucleotides are prepared as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,243, herein incorporated by reference.

Borano phosphate oligonucleotides are prepared as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,130,302 and 5,177,198, both herein incorporated by reference.

Example 3

Oligonucleoside Synthesis

Methylenemethylimino linked oligonucleosides, also identified as MMI linked oligonucleosides, methylenedimethylhydrazo linked oligonucleosides, also identified as MDH linked oligonucleosides, and methylenecarbonylamino linked oligonucleosides, also identified as amide-3 linked oligonucleosides, and methyleneaminocarbonyl linked oligonucleosides, also identified as amide-4 linked oligonucleosides, as well as mixed backbone compounds having, for instance, alternating MMI and P═O or P═S linkages are prepared as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,378,825, 5,386,023, 5,489,677, 5,602,240 and 5,610,289, all of which are herein incorporated by reference.

Formacetal and thioformacetal linked oligonucleosides are prepared as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,264,562 and 5,264,564, herein incorporated by reference.

Ethylene oxide linked oligonucleosides are prepared as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,618, herein incorporated by reference.

Example 4

PNA Synthesis

Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) are prepared in accordance with any of the various procedures referred to in Peptide Nucleic Acids (PNA): Synthesis, Properties and Potential Applications, Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry, 1996, 4, 5-23. They may also be prepared in accordance with U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,539,082, 5,700,922, and 5,719,262, herein incorporated by reference.

Example 5

Synthesis of Chimeric Oligonucleotides

Chimeric oligonucleotides, oligonucleosides or mixed oligonucleotides/oligonucleosides of the invention can be of several different types. These include a first type wherein the “gap” segment of linked nucleosides is positioned between 5′ and 3′ “wing” segments of linked nucleosides and a second “open end” type wherein the “gap” segment is located at either the 3′ or the 5′ terminus of the oligomeric compound. Oligonucleotides of the first type are also known in the art as “gapmers” or gapped oligonucleotides. Oligonucleotides of the second type are also known in the art as “hemimers” or “wingmers”.

[2′-O-Me]-[2′-deoxy]-[2′-O-Me]chimeric Phosphorothioate Oligonucleotides

Chimeric oligonucleotides having 2′-O-alkyl phosphorothioate and 2′-deoxy phosphorothioate oligonucleotide segments are synthesized using an Applied Biosystems automated DNA synthesizer Model 380B, as above. Oligonucleotides are synthesized using the automated synthesizer and 2′-deoxy-5′-dimethoxytrityl-3′-O-phosphoramidite for the DNA portion and 5′-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-methyl-3′-O-phosphoramidite for 5′ and 3′ wings. The standard synthesis cycle is modified by increasing the wait step after the delivery of tetrazole and base to 600 s repeated four times for RNA and twice for 2′-O-methyl. The fully protected oligonucleotide is cleaved from the support and the phosphate group is deprotected in 3:1 Ammonia/Ethanol at room temperature overnight then lyophilized to dryness. Treatment in methanolic ammonia for 24 hours at room temperature is then done to deprotect all bases and sample was again lyophilized to dryness. The pellet is resuspended in 1M TBAF in THF for 24 hours at room temperature to deprotect the 2′ positions. The reaction is then quenched with 1M TEAA and the sample is then reduced to ½ volume by rotovac before being desalted on a G25 size exclusion column. The oligo recovered is then analyzed spectrophotometrically for yield and for purity by capillary electrophoresis and by mass spectrometry.

[2′-O-(2-Methoxyethyl)]-[2′-deoxy]-[2′-O-(Methoxyethyl)] Chimeric Phosphorothioate Oligonucleotides

[2′-O-(2-methoxyethyl)]-[2′-deoxy]-[-2′-O-(methoxyethyl)] chimeric phosphorothioate oligonucleotides were prepared as per the procedure above for the 2′-O-methyl chimeric oligonucleotide, with the substitution of 2′-O-(methoxyethyl) amidites for the 2′-O-methyl amidites.

[2′-O-(2-Methoxyethyl)Phosphodiester]-[2′-deoxy Phosphorothioate]-[2′-O-(2-Methoxyethyl) Phosphodiester] Chimeric Oligonucleotides

[2′-O-(2-methoxyethyl phosphodiester]-[2′-deoxy phosphorothioate]-[2′-O-(methoxyethyl) phosphodiester] chimeric oligonucleotides are prepared as per the above procedure for the 2′-O-methyl chimeric oligonucleotide with the substitution of 2′-O-(methoxyethyl) amidites for the 2′-O-methyl amidites, oxidization with iodine to generate the phosphodiester internucleotide linkages within the wing portions of the chimeric structures and sulfurization utilizing 3,H-1,2 benzodithiole-3-one 1,1 dioxide (Beaucage Reagent) to generate the phosphorothioate internucleotide linkages for the center gap.

Other chimeric oligonucleotides, chimeric oligonucleosides and mixed chimeric oligonucleotides/oligonucleosides are synthesized according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,065, herein incorporated by reference.

Example 6

Oligonucleotide Isolation

After cleavage from the controlled pore glass column (Applied Biosystems) and deblocking in concentrated ammonium hydroxide at 55EC for 18 hours, the oligonucleotides or oligonucleosides are purified by precipitation twice out of 0.5 M NaCl with 2.5 volumes ethanol. Synthesized oligonucleotides were analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis on denaturing gels and judged to be at least 85% full length material. The relative amounts of phosphorothioate and phosphodiester linkages obtained in synthesis were periodically checked by ³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and for some studies oligonucleotides were purified by HPLC, as described by Chiang et al., J. Biol. Chem. 1991, 266, 18162-18171. Results obtained with HPLC-purified material were similar to those obtained with non-HPLC purified material.

Example 7

Oligonucleotide Synthesis—96 Well Plate Format

Oligonucleotides were synthesized via solid phase P(III) phosphoramidite chemistry on an automated synthesizer capable of assembling 96 sequences simultaneously in a standard 96 well format. Phosphodiester internucleotide linkages were afforded by oxidation with aqueous iodine. Phosphorothioate internucleotide linkages were generated by sulfurization utilizing 3,H-1,2 benzodithiole-3-one 1,1 dioxide (Beaucage Reagent) in anhydrous acetonitrile. Standard base-protected beta-cyanoethyldiisopropyl phosphoramidites were purchased from commercial vendors (e.g. PE-Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif., or Pharmacia, Piscataway, N.J.). Non-standard nucleosides are synthesized as per known literature or patented methods. They are utilized as base protected beta-cyanoethyldiisopropyl phosphoramidites.

Oligonucleotides were cleaved from support and deprotected with concentrated NH₄OH at elevated temperature (55-60° C.) for 12-16 hours and the released product then dried in vacuo. The dried product was then re-suspended in sterile water to afford a master plate from which all analytical and test plate samples are then diluted utilizing robotic pipettors.

Example 8

Oligonucleotide Analysis—96 Well Plate Format

The concentration of oligonucleotide in each well was assessed by dilution of samples and UV absorption spectroscopy. The full-length integrity of the individual products was evaluated by capillary electrophoresis (CE) in either the 96 well format (Beckman P/ACEJ MDQ) or, for individually prepared samples, on a commercial CE apparatus (e.g., Beckman P/ACEJ 5000, ABI 270). Base and backbone composition was confirmed by mass analysis of the compounds utilizing electrospray-mass spectroscopy. All assay test plates were diluted from the master plate using single and multi-channel robotic pipettors. Plates were judged to be acceptable if at least 85% of the compounds on the plate were at least 85% full length.

Example 9

Cell Culture and Oligonucleotide Treatment

The effect of antisense compounds on target nucleic acid expression can be tested in any of a variety of cell types provided that the target nucleic acid is present at measurable levels. This can be routinely determined using, for example, PCR or Northern blot analysis. The following four cell types are provided for illustrative purposes, but other cell types can be routinely used.

T-24 Cells:

The transitional cell bladder carcinoma cell line T-24 was obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) (Manassas, Va.). T-24 cells were routinely cultured in complete McCoy's 5A basal media (Gibco/Life Technologies, Gaithersburg, Md.) supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum (Gibco/Life Technologies, Gaithersburg, Md.), penicillin 100 units per mL, and streptomycin 100 micrograms per mL (Gibco/Life Technologies, Gaithersburg, Md.). Cells were routinely passaged by trypsinization and dilution when they reached 90% confluence. Cells were seeded into 96-well plates (Falcon-Primaria #3872) at a density of 7000 cells/well for use in RT-PCR analysis.

For Northern blotting or other analysis, cells may be seeded onto 100 mm or other standard tissue culture plates and treated similarly, using appropriate volumes of medium and oligonucleotide.

A549 Cells:

The human lung carcinoma cell line A549 was obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) (Manassas, Va.). A549 cells were routinely cultured in DMEM basal media (Gibco/Life Technologies, Gaithersburg, Md.) supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum (Gibco/Life Technologies, Gaithersburg, Md.), penicillin 100 units per mL, and streptomycin 100 micrograms per mL (Gibco/Life Technologies, Gaithersburg, Md.). Cells were routinely passaged by trypsinization and dilution when they reached 90% confluence.

NHDF Cells:

Human neonatal dermal fibroblast (NHDF) were obtained from the Clonetics Corporation (Walkersville Md.). NHDFs were routinely maintained in Fibroblast Growth Medium (Clonetics Corporation, Walkersville Md.) supplemented as recommended by the supplier. Cells were maintained for up to 10 passages as recommended by the supplier.

HEK Cells:

Human embryonic keratinocytes (HEK) were obtained from the Clonetics Corporation (Walkersville Md.). HEKs were routinely maintained in Keratinocyte Growth Medium (Clonetics Corporation, Walkersville Md.) formulated as recommended by the supplier. Cells were routinely maintained for up to 10 passages as recommended by the supplier.

3T3-L1 Cells:

The mouse embryonic adipocyte-like cell line 3T3-L1 was obtained from the American Type Culure Collection (Manassas, Va.). 3T3-L1 cells were routinely cultured in DMEM, high glucose (Gibco/Life Technologies, Gaithersburg, Md.) supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum (Gibco/Life Technologies, Gaithersburg, Md.). Cells were routinely passaged by trypsinization and dilution when they reached 80% confluence. Cells were seeded into 96-well plates (Falcon-Primaria #3872) at a density of 4000 cells/well for use in RT-PCR analysis.

For Northern blotting or other analyses, cells may be seeded onto 100 mm or other standard tissue culture plates and treated similarly, using appropriate volumes of medium and oligonucleotide.

Treatment With Antisense Compounds:

When cells reached 80% confluency, they were treated with oligonucleotide. For cells grown in 96-well plates, wells were washed once with 200 μL OPTI-MEMJ-1 reduced-serum medium (Gibco BRL) and then treated with 130 μL of OPTI-MEMJ-1 containing 3.75 μg/mL LIPOFECTINJ (Gibco BRL) and the desired oligonucleotide at a final concentration of 150 nM. After 4 hours of treatment, the medium was replaced with fresh medium. Cells were harvested 16 hours after oligonucleotide treatment.

The concentration of oligonucleotide used varies from cell line to cell line. To determine the optimal oligonucleotide concentration for a particular cell line, the cells are treated with a positive control oligonucleotide at a range of concentrations. For human cells the positive control oligonucleotide is ISIS 13920, TCCGTCATCGCTCCTCAGGG, SEQ ID NO: 1, a 2′-O-methoxyethyl gapmer (2′-O-methoxyethyls shown in bold) with a phosphorothioate backbone which is targeted to human H-ras. For mouse or rat cells the positive control oligonucleotide is ISIS 15770, ATGCATTCTGCCCCCAAGGA, SEQ ID NO: 2, a 2′-O-methoxyethyl gapmer (2′-O-methoxyethyls shown in bold) with a phosphorothioate backbone which is targeted to both mouse and rat c-raf. The concentration of positive control oligonucleotide that results in 80% inhibition of H-ras (for ISIS 13920) or c-raf (for ISIS 15770) mRNA is then utilized as the screening concentration for new oligonucleotides in subsequent experiments for that cell line. If 80% inhibition is not achieved, the lowest concentration of positive control oligonucleotide that results in 60% inhibition of H-ras or c-raf mRNA is then utilized as the oligonucleotide screening concentration in subsequent experiments for that cell line. If 60% inhibition is not achieved, that particular cell line is deemed as unsuitable for oligonucleotide transfection experiments.

Example 10

Analysis of Oligonucleotide Inhibition of Survivin Expression

Antisense modulation of Survivin expression can be assayed in a variety of ways known in the art. For example, Survivin mRNA levels can be quantitated by, e.g., Northern blot analysis, competitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR), or real-time PCR (RT-PCR). Real-time quantitative PCR is presently preferred. RNA analysis can be performed on total cellular RNA or poly(A)+mRNA. Methods of RNA isolation are taught in, for example, Ausubel, F. M. et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Volume 1, pp. 4.1.1-4.2.9 and 4.5.1-4.5.3, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1993. Northern blot analysis is routine in the art and is taught in, for example, Ausubel, F. M. et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Volume 1, pp. 4.2.1-4.2.9, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996. Real-time quantitative (PCR) can be conveniently accomplished using the commercially available ABI PRISMJ 7700 Sequence Detection System, available from PE-Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif. and used according to manufacturer's instructions. Other methods of PCR are also known in the art.

Survivin protein levels can be quantitated in a variety of ways well known in the art, such as immunoprecipitation, Western blot analysis (immunoblotting), ELISA or fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Antibodies directed to Survivin can be identified and obtained from a variety of sources, such as the MSRS catalog of antibodies (Aerie Corporation, Birmingham, Mich.), or can be prepared via conventional antibody generation methods. Methods for preparation of polyclonal antisera are taught in, for example, Ausubel, F. M. et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Volume 2, pp. 11.12.1-11.12.9, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1997. Preparation of monoclonal antibodies is taught in, for example, Ausubel, F. M. et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Volume 2, pp. 11.4.1-11.11.5, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1997.

Immunoprecipitation methods are standard in the art and can be found at, for example, Ausubel, F. M. et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Volume 2, pp. 10.16.1-10.16.11, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998. Western blot (immunoblot) analysis is standard in the art and can be found at, for example, Ausubel, F. M. et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Volume 2, pp. 10.8.1-10.8.21, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1997. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) are standard in the art and can be found at, for example, Ausubel, F. M. et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Volume 2, pp. 11.2.1-11.2.22, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1991.

Example 11

Poly(A)+ mRNA Isolation

Poly(A)+ mRNA was isolated according to Miura et al., Clin. Chem., 1996, 42, 1758-1764. Other methods for poly(A)+ mRNA isolation are taught in, for example, Ausubel, F. M. et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Volume 1, pp. 4.5.1-4.5.3, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1993. Briefly, for cells grown on 96-well plates, growth medium was removed from the cells and each well was washed with 200 μL cold PBS. 60 μL lysis buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.6, 1 mM EDTA, 0.5 M NaCl, 0.5% NP-40, 20 mM vanadyl-ribonucleoside complex) was added to each well, the plate was gently agitated and then incubated at room temperature for five minutes. 55 μL of lysate was transferred to Oligo d(T) coated 96-well plates (AGCT Inc., Irvine Calif.). Plates were incubated for 60 minutes at room temperature, washed 3 times with 200 μL of wash buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.6, 1 mM EDTA, 0.3 M NaCl). After the final wash, the plate was blotted on paper towels to remove excess wash buffer and then air-dried for 5 minutes. 60 μL of elution buffer (5 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.6), preheated to 70° C. was added to each well, the plate was incubated on a 90° C. hot plate for 5 minutes, and the eluate was then transferred to a fresh 96-well plate.

Cells grown on 100 mm or other standard plates may be treated similarly, using appropriate volumes of all solutions.

Example 12

Total RNA Isolation

Total mRNA was isolated using an RNEASY 96J kit and buffers purchased from Qiagen Inc. (Valencia Calif.) following the manufacturer's recommended procedures. Briefly, for cells grown on 96-well plates, growth medium was removed from the cells and each well was washed with 200 μL cold PBS. 100 μL Buffer RLT was added to each well and the plate vigorously agitated for 20 seconds. 100 μL of 70% ethanol was then added to each well and the contents mixed by pippeting three times up and down. The samples were then transferred to the RNEASY 96J well plate attached to a QIAVACJ manifold fitted with a waste collection tray and attached to a vacuum source. Vacuum was applied for 15 seconds. 1 mL of Buffer RW1 was added to each well of the RNEASY 96J plate and the vacuum again applied for 15 seconds. 1 mL of Buffer RPE was then added to each well of the RNEASY 96J plate and the vacuum applied for a period of 15 seconds. The Buffer RPE wash was then repeated and the vacuum was applied for an additional 10 minutes. The plate was then removed from the QIAVACJ manifold and blotted dry on paper towels. The plate was then re-attached to the QIAVACJ manifold fitted with a collection tube rack containing 1.2 mL collection tubes. RNA was then eluted by pipetting 60 μL water into each well, incubating 1 minute, and then applying the vacuum for 30 seconds. The elution step was repeated with an additional 60 μL water.

Example 13

Real-time Quantitative PCR Analysis of Survivin mRNA Levels

Quantitation of Survivin mRNA levels was determined by real-time quantitative PCR using the ABI PRISMJ 7700 Sequence Detection System (PE-Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.) according to manufacturer's instructions. This is a closed-tube, non-gel-based, fluorescence detection system which allows high-throughput quantitation of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products in real-time. As opposed to standard PCR, in which amplification products are quantitated after the PCR is completed, products in real-time quantitative PCR are quantitated as they accumulate. This is accomplished by including in the PCR reaction an oligonucleotide probe that anneals specifically between the forward and reverse PCR primers, and contains two fluorescent dyes. A reporter dye (e.g., JOE or FAM, obtained from either Operon Technologies Inc., Alameda, Calif. or PE-Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.) is attached to the 5′ end of the probe and a quencher dye (e.g., TAMRA, obtained from either Operon Technologies Inc., Alameda, Calif. or PE-Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.) is attached to the 3′ end of the probe. When the probe and dyes are intact, reporter dye emission is quenched by the proximity of the 3′ quencher dye. During amplification, annealing of the probe to the target sequence creates a substrate that can be cleaved by the 5′-exonuclease activity of Taq polymerase. During the extension phase of the PCR amplification cycle, cleavage of the probe by Taq polymerase releases the reporter dye from the remainder of the probe (and hence from the quencher moiety) and a sequence-specific fluorescent signal is generated. With each cycle, additional reporter dye molecules are cleaved from their respective probes, and the fluorescence intensity is monitored at regular (six-second) intervals by laser optics built into the ABI PRISMJ 7700 Sequence Detection System. In each assay, a series of parallel reactions containing serial dilutions of mRNA from untreated control samples generates a standard curve that is used to quantitate the percent inhibition after antisense oligonucleotide treatment of test samples.

PCR reagents were obtained from PE-Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif. RT-PCR reactions were carried out by adding 25 μL PCR cocktail (1× TAQMANJ buffer A, 5.5 mM MgCl₂, 300 μM each of dATP, dCTP and dGTP, 600 μM of dUTP, 100 nM each of forward primer, reverse primer, and probe, 20 Units RNAse inhibitor, 1.25 Units AMPLITAQ GOLDJ, and 12.5 Units MuLV reverse transcriptase) to 96 well plates containing 25 μL poly(A) mRNA solution. The RT reaction was carried out by incubation for 30 minutes at 48° C. Following a 10 minute incubation at 95EC to activate the AMPLITAQ GOLDJ, 40 cycles of a two-step PCR protocol were carried out: 95° C. for 15 seconds (denaturation) followed by 60EC for 1.5 minutes (annealing/extension). Probes and primers to human Survivin were designed to hybridize to a human Survivin sequence, using published sequence information (GenBank accession number U75285, incorporated herein as SEQ ID NO: 3). For human Survivin the PCR primers were:

-   -   forward primer: AAGGACCACCGCATCTCTACA (SEQ ID NO: 4)     -   reverse primer: CCAAGTCTGGCTCGTTCTCAGT (SEQ ID NO: 5) and the     -   PCR probe was: FAM-CGAGGCTGGCTTCATCCACTGCC-TAMRA (SEQ ID NO: 6)         where FAM (PE-Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.) is the         fluorescent reporter dye) and TAMRA (PE-Applied Biosystems,         Foster City, Calif.) is the quencher dye. For human GAPDH the         PCR primers were:     -   forward primer: GAAGGTGAAGGTCGGAGTC (SEQ ID NO: 7)     -   reverse primer: GAAGATGGTGATGGGATTTC (SEQ ID NO: 8) and the     -   PCR probe was: 5′ JOE-CAAGCTTCCCGTTCTCAGCC-TAMRA 3′ (SEQ ID         NO: 9) where JOE (PE-Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.) is         the fluorescent reporter dye) and TAMRA (PE-Applied Biosystems,         Foster City, Calif.) is the quencher dye.

Probes and primers to mouse Survivin were designed to hybridize to a mouse Survivin sequence, using published sequence information (GenBank accession number AB013819, incorporated herein as SEQ ID NO: 10). For mouse Survivin the PCR primers were:

-   -   forward primer: CCGAGAACGAGCCTGATTTG (SEQ ID NO: 11)     -   reverse primer: GGGAGTGCTTTCTATGCTCCTCTA (SEQ ID NO: 12) and     -   the PCR probe was: FAM-TAAGGAATTGGAAGGCTGGGAACCCG-TAMRA (SEQ ID         NO: 13) where FAM (PE-Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.)         is the fluorescent reporter dye) and TAMRA (PE-Applied         Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.) is the quencher dye. For mouse         GAPDH the PCR primers were:     -   forward primer: GGCAAATTCAACGGCACAGT (SEQ ID NO: 14)     -   reverse primer: GGGTCTCGCTCCTGGAAGCT (SEQ ID NO: 15) and the     -   PCR probe was: 5′ JOE-AAGGCCGAGAATGGGAAGCTTGTCATC-TAMRA 3′ (SEQ         ID NO: 16) where JOE (PE-Applied Biosystems, Foster City,         Calif.) is the fluorescent reporter dye) and TAMPA (PE-Applied         Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.) is the quencher dye.

Example 14

Northern Blot Analysis of Survivin mRNA Levels

Eighteen hours after antisense treatment, cell monolayers were washed twice with cold PBS and lysed in 1 mL RNAZOLJ (TEL-TEST “B” Inc., Friendswood, Tex.). Total RNA was prepared following manufacturer's recommended protocols. Twenty micrograms of total RNA was fractionated by electrophoresis through 1.2% agarose gels containing 1.1% formaldehyde using a MOPS buffer system (AMRESCO, Inc. Solon, Ohio). RNA was transferred from the gel to HYBONDJ-N+ nylon membranes (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Piscataway, N.J.) by overnight capillary transfer using a Northern/Southern Transfer buffer system (TEL-TEST “B” Inc., Friendswood, Tex.). RNA transfer was confirmed by UV visualization. Membranes were fixed by UV cross-linking using a STRATALINKERJ UV Crosslinker 2400 (Stratagene, Inc, La Jolla, Calif.) and then robed using QUICKHYBJ hybridization solution (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.) using manufacturer's recommendations for stringent conditions.

To detect human Survivin, a human Survivin specific probe was prepared by PCR using the forward primer AAGGACCACCGCATCTCTACA (SEQ ID NO: 4) and the reverse primer CCAAGTCTGGCTCGTTCTCAGT (SEQ ID NO: 5). To normalize for variations in loading and transfer efficiency membranes were stripped and probed for human glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) RNA (Clontech, Palo Alto, Calif.).

To detect mouse Survivin, a mouse Survivin specific probe was prepared by PCR using the forward primer CCGAGAACGAGCCTGATTTG (SEQ ID NO: 11) and the reverse primer GGGAGTGCTTTCTATGCTCCTCTA (SEQ ID NO: 12). To normalize for variations in loading and transfer efficiency membranes were stripped and probed for mouse glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) RNA (Clontech, Palo Alto, Calif.).

Example 15

Antisense Inhibition of Survivin Expression— Phosphorothioate Oligodeoxynucleotides

In accordance with the present invention, a series of oligonucleotides were designed to target different regions of the human Survivin RNA, using published sequences (GenBank accession number U75285, incorporated herein as SEQ ID NO: 3). The oligonucleotides are shown in Table 1. Target sites are indicated by nucleotide numbers, as given in the sequence source reference (GenBank accession no. U75285), to which the oligonucleotide binds. All compounds in Table 1 are oligodeoxynucleotides with phosphorothioate backbones (internucleoside linkages) throughout. All cytodines are 5-methylcytidines. The compounds were analyzed for effect on Survivin mRNA levels by quantitative real-time PCR as described in other examples herein. Data are averages from three experiments. If present, “N.D.” indicates “no data”.

TABLE 1 Inhibition of human Survivin mRNA levels by phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides SEQ ISIS TARGET % In- ID # REGION SITE SEQUENCE hibition NO 23625 5′ UTR 1 gcgattcaaatctggcgg 0 17 23653 5′ UTR 19 cctctgccaacgggtccc 4 18 23654 5′ UTR 75 tgagaaagggctgccagg 46 19 23655 5′ UTR 103 ttcttgaatgtagagatg 0 20 23656 5′ UTR 128 ggcgcagccctccaagaa 38 21 23657 Coding 194 caagtctggctcgttctc 0 22 23658 Coding 226 tccagctccttgaagcag 32 23 23659 Coding 249 ggtcgtcatctggctccc 36 24 23660 Coding 306 gcttcttgacagaaagga 35 25 23661 Coding 323 ggttaattcttcaaactg 0 26 23662 Coding 363 tcttggctctttctctgt 34 27 23663 Coding 393 tcttattgttggtttcct 0 28 23664 Coding 417 tcgcagtttcctcaaatt 37 29 23665 Coding 438 cgatggcacggcgcactt 72 30 23666 Coding 511 cctggaagtggtgcagcc 16 31 23667 Coding 542 acaggaaggctggtggca 70 32 23668 Coding 587 tttgaaaatgttgatctc 8 33 23669 Coding 604 acagttgaaacatctaat 0 34 23670 Coding 625 ctttcaagacaaaacagg 0 35 23671 Coding 650 acaggcagaagcacctct 0 36 23672 Coding 682 aagcagccactgttacca 64 37 23673 Coding 700 aaagagagagagagagag 18 38 23674 Coding 758 tccctcacttctcacctg 29 39 23675 3′ UTR 777 agggacactgccttcttc 43 40 23676 3′ UTR 808 ccacgcgaacaaagctgt 62 41 23677 3′ UTR 825 actgtggaaggctctgcc 0 42 23678 3′ UTR 867 aggactgtgacagcctca 62 43 23679 3′ UTR 901 tcagattcaacaggcacc 0 44 23680 3′ UTR 1016 attctctcatcacacaca 26 45 23681 3′ UTR 1054 tgttgttaaacagtagag 0 46 23682 3′ UTR 1099 tgtgctattctgtgaatt 20 47 23683 3′ UTR 1137 gacttagaatggctttgt 37 48 23684 3′ UTR 1178 ctgtctcctcatccacct 41 49 23685 3′ UTR 1216 aaaaggagtatctgccag 39 50 23686 3′ UTR 1276 gaggagcggccagcatgt 47 51 23687 3′ UTR 1373 ggctgacagacacacggc 41 52 23688 3′ UTR 1405 ccgtgtggagaacgtgac 22 53 23689 3′ UTR 1479 tacgccagacttcagccc 1 54 23690 3′ UTR 1514 atgacagggaggagggcg 0 55 23691 3′ UTR 1571 gccgagatgacctccaga 66 56

As shown in Table 1, SEQ ID NOs: 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, 27, 29, 30, 32, 37, 40, 41, 43, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52 and 56 demonstrated at least 30% inhibition of Survivin expression in this assay and are therefore preferred.

Example 16

Antisense Inhibition of Survivin Expression— Phosphorothioate 2′-MOE gapmer Oligonucleotides

In accordance with the present invention, a second series of oligonucleotides targeted to human Survivin were synthesized. The oligonucleotide sequences are shown in Table 2. Target sites are indicated by nucleotide numbers, as given in the sequence source reference (GenBank accession no. U75285), to which the oligonucleotide binds.

All compounds in Table 2 are chimeric oligonucleotides (“gapmers”) 18 nucleotides in length, composed of a central “gap” region consisting of ten 2′-deoxynucleotides, which is flanked on both sides (5′ and 3′ directions) by four-nucleotide “wings”. The wings are composed of 2′-methoxyethyl (2′-MOE) nucleotides. The internucleoside (backbone) linkages are phosphorothioate (P═S) throughout the oligonucleotide. All cytidine residues are 5-methylcytidines.

Data were obtained by real-time quantitative PCR as described in other examples herein and are averaged from three experiments. If present, “N.D.” indicates “no data”.

TABLE 2 Inhibition of human Survivin mRNA levels by chimeric phosphorothioate oligonucleotides having 2′-MOE wings and a deoxy gap ISIS # REGION TARGET SEQUENCE % SEQ ID 23692 5′ UTR 1 gcgattcaaatctggcgg 22 57 23693 5′ UTR 19 cctctgccaacgggtccc 15 58 23694 5′ UTR 75 tgagaaagggctgccagg 11 59 23695 5′ UTR 103 ttcttgaatgtagagatg 37 60 23696 5′ UTR 128 ggcgcagccctccaagaa 16 61 23697 Coding 194 caagtctggctcgttctc 17 62 23698 Coding 226 tccagctccttgaagcag 0 63 23699 Coding 249 ggtcgtcatctggctccc 19 64 23700 Coding 306 gcttcttgacagaaagga 35 65 23701 Coding 323 ggttaattcttcaaactg 15 66 23702 Coding 363 tcttggctctttctctgt 8 67 23703 Coding 393 tcttattgttggtttcct 41 68 23704 Coding 417 tcgcagtttcctcaaatt 24 69 23705 Coding 438 cgatggcacggcgcactt 72 70 23706 Coding 511 cctggaagtggtgcagcc 4 71 23707 Coding 542 acaggaaggctggtggca 48 72 23708 Coding 587 tttgaaaatgttgatctc 2 73 23709 Coding 604 acagttgaaacatctaat 28 74 23710 Coding 625 ctttcaagacaaaacagg 0 75 23711 Coding 650 acaggcagaagcacctct 38 76 23712 Coding 682 aagcagccactgttacca 27 77 23713 Coding 700 aaagagagagagagagag 0 78 23714 Coding 758 tccctcacttctcacctg 0 79 23715 3′ UTR 777 agggacactgccttcttc 44 80 23716 3′ UTR 808 ccacgcgaacaaagctgt 25 81 23717 3′ UTR 825 actgtggaaggctctgcc 8 82 23718 3′ UTR 867 aggactgtgacagcctca 49 83 23719 3′ UTR 901 tcagattcaacaggcacc 0 84 23720 3′ UTR 1016 attctctcatcacacaca 0 85 23721 3′ UTR 1054 tgttgttaaacagtagag 0 86 23722 3′ UTR 1099 tgtgctattctgtgaatt 80 87 23723 3′ UTR 1137 gacttagaatggctttgt 44 88 23724 3′ UTR 1178 ctgtctcctcatccacct 27 89 23725 3′ UTR 1216 aaaaggagtatctgccag 21 90 23726 3′ UTR 1276 gaggagcggccagcatgt 39 91 23727 3′ UTR 1373 ggctgacagacacacggc 45 92 23728 3′ UTR 1405 ccgtgtggagaacgtgac 24 93 23729 3′ UTR 1479 tacgccagacttcagccc 25 94 23730 3′ UTR 1514 atgacagggaggagggcg 0 95 23731 3′ UTR 1571 gccgagatgacctccaga 19 96

As shown in Table 2, SEQ ID NOs: 60, 65, 68, 70, 72, 76, 80, 83, 87, 88, 91 and 92 demonstrated at least 30% inhibition of Survivin expression in this experiment and are preferred.

Example 17

Antisense Inhibition of Survivin Expression— Phosphorothioate 2′-MOE Gapmer Oligonucleotides

In accordance with the present invention, a third series of oligonucleotides targeted to human Survivin mRNA were synthesized. The oligonucleotide sequences are shown in Table 3. Target sites are indicated by nucleotide numbers to which the oligonucleotide binds. The human Survivin mRNA was generated by splicing nucleotides 2811-2921, 3174-3283, 5158-5275 and 11955-12044 from GenBank accession no. U75285 creating the complete human mRNA sequence herein incorporated as SEQ ID NO: 97.

All compounds in Table 3 are chimeric oligonucleotides (“gapmers”) 18 nucleotides in length, composed of a central “gap” region consisting of ten 2′-deoxynucleotides, which is flanked on both sides (5′ and 3′ directions) by four-nucleotide “wings”. The wings are composed of 2′-methoxyethyl (2′-MOE)nucleotides. The internucleoside (backbone) linkages are phosphorothioate (P═S) throughout the oligonucleotide. All cytidine residues are 5-methylcytidines.

Data were obtained by real-time quantitative PCR as described in other examples herein and are averaged from three experiments. If present, “N.D.” indicates “no data”.

TABLE 3 Inhibition of human Survivin mRNA levels by chimeric phosphorothioate oligonucleotides having 2′-MOE wings and a deoxy gap ISIS TARGET % In- SEQ ID # REGION SITE SEQUENCE hibition NO 107289 Coding 14 gccaacgggtcccgcgat 5 98 107290 Coding 35 catgccgccgccgccacc 4 99 107291 Coding 90 agatgcggtggtccttga 94 100 107292 Coding 110 gggccagttcttgaatgt 14 101 107293 Coding 166 tggatgaagccagcctcg 0 102 107294 Coding 212 gcagaagaaacactgggc 0 103 107295 Coding 233 ccagccttccagctcctt 0 104 107296 Coding 283 caaccggacgaatgcttt 0 105 107297 Coding 299 gacagaaaggaaagcgca 83 106 107298 Coding 313 tcaaactgcttcttgaca 73 107 107299 Coding 329 accaagggttaattcttc 0 108 107300 Coding 359 ggctctttctctgtccag 7 109 107301 Coding 370 attttgttcttggctctt 4 110 107302 Coding 398 tttcttcttattgttggt 11 111 107303 Coding 412 gtttcctcaaattctttc 0 112 107304 Coding 421 ttcttcgcagtttcctca 49 113 107305 Coding 432 cacggcgcactttcttcg 22 114 107306 Coding 445 agctgctcgatggcacgg 7 115 107307 Coding 495 ccactctgggaccaggca 0 116 107308 Coding 514 aaccctggaagtggtgca 0 117 107309 Coding 529 tggcaccagggaataaac 0 118 107310 Coding 566 tcctaagacattgctaag 1 119 107311 Coding 579 tgttgatctcctttccta 3 120 107312 Coding 590 taatttgaaaatgttgat 15 121 107313 Coding 599 tgaaacatctaatttgaa 0 122 107314 Coding 613 aacaggagcacagttgaa 27 123 107315 Coding 619 agacaaaacaggagcaca 0 124 107316 Coding 630 tgccactttcaagacaaa 24 125 107317 Coding 635 tctggtgccactttcaag 0 126 107318 Coding 653 tgcacaggcagaagcacc 15 127 107319 Coding 676 ccactgttaccagcagca 4 128 107320 Coding 701 aaaagagagagagagaga 0 129 107321 Coding 766 cttcttcctccctcactt 7 130 107322 Coding 789 agctctagcaaaagggac 0 131 107323 Coding 814 ctctgcccacgcgaacaa 13 132 107324 Coding 836 cagacacattcactgtgg 0 133 107325 Coding 852 tcaacaacatgaggtcca 0 134 107326 Coding 882 gccaagtccacactcagg 0 135 107327 Coding 1039 gaggagccagggactctg 16 136 107328 Coding 1067 aataagaaagccatgttg 0 137 107329 Coding 1080 acaattcaaacaaaataa 30 138 107330 Coding 1081 aacaattcaaacaaaata 0 139 107331 Coding 1082 taacaattcaaacaaaat 3 140 107332 Coding 1083 ttaacaattcaaacaaaa 31 141 107333 Coding 1084 attaacaattcaaacaaa 9 142 107334 Coding 1085 aattaacaattcaaacaa 10 143 107335 Coding 1092 ttctgtgaattaacaatt 16 144 107336 Coding 1093 attctgtgaattaacaat 0 145 107337 Coding 1094 tattctgtgaattaacaa 25 146 107338 Coding 1095 ctattctgtgaattaaca 12 147 107339 Coding 1096 gctattctgtgaattaac 14 148 107340 Coding 1097 tgctattctgtgaattaa 14 149 107341 Coding 1098 gtgctattctgtgaatta 8 150 107342 Coding 1100 ttgtgctattctgtgaat 18 151 107343 Coding 1101 tttgtgctattctgtgaa 33 152 107344 Coding 1102 gtttgtgctattctgtga 11 153 107345 Coding 1103 agtttgtgctattctgtg 21 154 107346 Coding 1104 tagtttgtgctattctgt 17 155 107347 Coding 1105 gtagtttgtgctattctg 57 156 107348 Coding 1106 tgtagtttgtgctattct 6 157 107349 Coding 1107 ttgtagtttgtgctattc 13 158 107350 Coding 1108 attgtagtttgtgctatt 15 159 107351 Coding 1109 aattgtagtttgtgctat 0 160 107352 Coding 1110 taattgtagtttgtgcta 25 161 107353 Coding 1120 tgcttagttttaattgta 0 162 107354 Coding 1144 ccccaatgacttagaatg 7 163 107355 Coding 1163 cctgaagttcaccccgtt 19 164 107356 Coding 1184 tctattctgtctcctcat 0 165 107357 Coding 1199 gacgcttcctatcactct 18 166 107358 Coding 1222 agtggcaaaaggagtatc 0 167 107359 Coding 1239 ctgtctaatcacacagca 0 168 107360 Coding 1281 tgagggaggagcggccag 0 169 107361 Coding 1350 gcagcccagccagtcccc 0 170 107362 Coding 1379 aggttgggctgacagaca 1 171 107363 Coding 1399 ggagaacgtgacagatgt 23 172 107364 Coding 1425 gggcggactgcgtctctc 0 173 107365 Coding 1470 cttcagccctgcgggagc 0 174 107366 Coding 1488 ccatcatcttacgccaga 0 175 107367 Coding 1509 agggaggagggcgaatca 0 176 107368 Coding 1585 atttctcaggaacagccg 7 177

As shown in Table 3, SEQ ID NOs: 101, 106, 107, 113, 138, 141, 152 and 156 demonstrated at least 30% inhibition of human Survivin expression in this assay and are preferred.

Example 18

Antisense Inhibition of Mouse Survivin Expression By Chimeric Phosphorothioate Oligonucleotides Having 2′-MOE Wings and a Deoxy Gap

In accordance with the present invention, a series of oligonucleotides were designed to target different regions of the mouse Survivin RNA, using published sequences (GenBank accession number AB013819, incorporated herein as SEQ ID NO: 10). The oligonucleotides are shown in Table 4. “Target site” indicates the first (5′-most) nucleotide number on the particular target sequence to which the oligonucleotide binds. All compounds in Table 4 are chimeric oligonucleotides (“gapmers”) 20 nucleotides in length, composed of a central “gap” region consisting of ten 2′-deoxynucleotides, which is flanked on both sides (5′ and 3′ directions) by five-nucleotide “wings”. The wings are composed of 2′-methoxyethyl (2′-MOE) nucleotides. The internucleoside (backbone) linkages are phosphorothioate (P═S) throughout the oligonucleotide. All cytidine residues are 5-methylcytidines. The compounds were analyzed for their effect on mouse Survivin mRNA levels by quantitative real-time PCR as described in other examples herein. Data are averages from two experiments. If present, “N.D.” indicates “no data”.

TABLE 4 Inhibition of mouse Survivin mRNA levels by chimeric phosphorothioate oligonucleotides having 2′-MOE wings and a deoxy gap % SEQ ISIS TARGET INHI- ID # REGION SITE SEQUENCE BITION NO 114968 5′ UTR 3 agagccccggccccctcgtg 0 178 114967 5′ UTR 4 gagagccccggccccctcgt 0 179 114966 5′ UTR 16 agagcatgccgggagagccc 0 108 114965 5′ UTR 25 gcgcgccgcagagcatgccg 0 181 114964 5′ UTR 55 aaacgcaggattcaaatcgc 0 182 114963 5′ UTR 66 caagacgactcaaacgcagg 0 183 114962 5′ UTR 68 gccaagacgactcaaacgca 0 184 114961 Start 92 catgatggcgtcaccacaac 0 185 Codon 114972 Start 101 cggagctcccatgatggcgt 27 186 Codon 114960 Start 104 cgccggagctcccatgatgg 47 187 Codon 114959 Coding 171 ggaagggccagttcttgaag 35 188 114958 Coding 184 gcgcagtcctccaggaaggg 0 189 114957 Coding 186 aggcgcagtcctccaggaag 10 190 114957 Coding 186 aggcgcagtcctccaggaag 6 191 114971 Coding 189 tgcaggcgcagtcctccagg 30 192 114956 Coding 249 aatcaggctcgttctcggta 46 193 114955 Coding 259 cactgggccaaatcaggctc 14 194 114954 Coding 289 cagccttccaattccttaaa 0 195 114953 Coding 300 catcgggttcccagccttcc 67 196 114952 Coding 303 tgtcatcgggttcccagcct 83 197 114951 Coding 315 cctctatcgggttgtcatcg 40 198 114950 Coding 327 gctttctatgctcctctatc 39 199 114949 Coding 358 ttgacagtgaggaaggcgca 0 200 114948 Coding 374 ttcttccatctgcttcttga 0 201 114947 Coding 387 cactgacggttagttcttcc 39 202 114946 Coding 389 ttcactgacggttagttctt 12 203 114945 Coding 394 aagaattcactgacggttag 26 204 114944 Coding 396 tcaagaattcactgacggtt 38 205 114943 Coding 465 cttcaaactctttttgcttg 10 206 114942 Coding 497 ctcaattgactgacgggtag 48 207 114941 Coding 498 gctcaattgactgacgggta 39 208 114940 Coding 499 tgctcaattgactgacgggt 23 219 114939 Stop 521 ggctcagcattaggcagcca 18 210 114938 Stop 531 tctcagcaaaggctcagcat 42 211 Codon 114937 3′ UTR 601 gctaggaggccctggctgga 52 212 114936 3′ UTR 613 ctctaagatcctgctaggag 39 213 114935 3′ UTR 627 accactgtctccttctctaa 35 214 114934 3′ UTR 642 atccagtttcaaaataccac 0 215 114933 3′ UTR 649 atttgatatccagtttcaaa 20 216 114932 3′ UTR 666 aaagcaaaaccaaaaatatt 7 217 114931 3′ UTR 683 agagaggtagccactttaaa 45 218 114930 3′ UTR 688 accaaagagaggtagccact 44 219 114929 3′ UTR 713 cgtcacaatagagcaaagcc 14 220 114970 3′ UTR 721 taagtccacgtcacaataga 7 221 114928 3′ UTR 741 ttcatcacttccttattgct 8 222 114927 3′ UTR 756 agagaacactgtcccttcat 15 223 114969 3′ UTR 786 acaggcaccccgacccccac 4 224 114926 3′ UTR 801 gaaccaagaccttgcacagg 59 225 114925 3′ UTR 812 tatcacaatcagaaccaaga 34 226 114924 3′ UTR 834 cattagcagccctgtatgga 18 227 114923 3′ UTR 856 aaccacacttacccatgggc 52 228 114922 3′ UTR 903 gtggtaggaaaactcatcag 64 229 114921 3′ UTR 934 actttttcaagtgattttat 13 230

As shown in Table 4, SEQ ID NOs: 187, 188, 192, 193, 196, 197, 198, 199, 202, 205, 207, 208, 211, 212, 213, 214, 218, 219, 225, 226, 228 and 229 demonstrated at least 30% inhibition of mouse Survivin expression in this experiment and are therefore preferred.

In accordance with the present invention, a second series of oligonucleotides were designed to target different regions of the mouse Survivin RNA, using published sequences (GenBank accession number AA717921, incorporated herein as SEQ ID NO: 231). The oligonucleotides are shown in Table 5. “Target site” indicates the first (5′-most) nucleotide number on the particular target sequence to which the oligonucleotide binds. All compounds in Table 5 are chimeric oligonucleotides (“gapmers”) 20 nucleotides in length, composed of a central “gap” region consisting of ten 2′-deoxynucleotides, which is flanked on both sides (5′ and 3′ directions) by five-nucleotide “wings”. The wings are composed of 2′-methoxyethyl (2′-MOE) nucleotides. The internucleoside (backbone) linkages are phosphorothioate (P═S) throughout the oligonucleotide. All cytidine residues are 5-methylcytidines. The compounds were analyzed for their effect on mouse Survivin mRNA levels by quantitative real-time PCR as described in other examples herein. Data are averages from two experiments. If present, “N.D.” indicates “no data”.

TABLE 5 Inhibition of mouse Survivin mRNA levels by chimeric phosphorothioate oligonucleotides having 2′-MOE wings and a deoxy gap TAR- % GET INHI- SEQ ID ISIS # REGION SITE SEQUENCE BITION NO 114920 5′UTR 2 aatcccagccaaggatccga 0 232 114919 5′UTR 21 cgtggtggctcacaccttta 1 233 114918 5′UTR 33 tttcaagccgggcgtggtgg 11 234 114917 5′UTR 57 acatatatatatataaacat 0 235 114916 5′UTR 87 aattttccttccttgatttt 5 236 114915 5′UTR 105 tactgagctacaaactggaa 41 237 114914 5′UTR 108 acttactgagctacaaactg 0 238 114913 5′UTR 168 aagttattatttttgtattg 0 239 114912 5′UTR 169 aaagttattatttttgtatt 7 240 114911 5′UTR 184 taaatcattaaaaggaaagt 0 241 114910 5′UTR 197 catcgtggcaagataaatca 0 242 114909 5′UTR 229 gcctgtccagggtgagatgc 0 243 114908 5′UTR 231 ttgcctgtccagggtgagat 0 244 114907 5′UTR 240 gggccaggcttgcctgtcca 13 245 114906 Start 293 ggtctcctttgcctggaatg 23 246 114905 Start 296 gttggtctcctttgcctgga 59 247 Codon

As shown in Table 5, SEQ ID NOs: 237 and 247 demonstrated at least 30% inhibition of mouse Survivin expression in this experiment and are therefore preferred.

Example 19

Western Blot Analysis of Survivin Protein Levels

Western blot analysis (immunoblot analysis) is carried out using standard methods. Cells are harvested 16-20 hours after oligonucleotide treatment, washed once with PBS, suspended in Laemmli buffer (100 μl/well), boiled for 5 minutes and loaded on a 16% SDS-PAGE gel. Gels are run for 1.5 hours at 150 V, and transferred to membrane for western blotting. Appropriate primary antibody directed to Survivin is used, with a radiolabelled or fluorescently labeled secondary antibody directed against the primary antibody species. Bands are visualized using a PHOSPHORIMAGER™ (Molecular Dynamics, Sunnyvale, Calif.).

Example 20

Effect of Antisense Inhibition of Survivin on Apoptosis

ISIS 23722 and a mismatch control, ISIS 28598 (TAAGCTGTTCTATGTGTT; SEQ ID NO: 248) were assayed for their effect on apoptosis in HeLa cells. The caspase inhibitor z-VAD.fmk was purchased from Calbiochem (La Jolla, Calif.) and used according to manufacturer's recommendations. In HeLa cells without oligonucleotide, approximately 4% of cells are hypodiploid (indicating DNA fragmentation, a measure of apoptosis). With the addition of ISIS 23722, approximately 22% of cells are hypodiploid, compared to approximately 11% with the mismatch oligonucleotide. In the presence of the caspase inhibitor z-VAD.fmk (42.8 mM), the percent of hypodiploid (apoptotic) cells drops to 3% without oligonucleotide, 6% with ISIS 23722 and 4% with the mismatch control. This demonstrates that antisense inhibition of Survivin increases apoptosis and that this effect is caspase-mediated.

Example 21

Effect of Antisense Inhibition of Survivin on Cytokinesis

HeLa cells treated with an antisense oligonucleotide targeted to Survivin (ISIS 23722) can be observed to form large, multinucleated cells as a result of improper cell division. The mismatch control oligonucleotide did not have this effect and cells appeared normal (comparable to untreated controls). This effect can be quantitated by flow cytometry.

Untreated cells or cells treated with the control oligonucleotide display two prominent peaks, representing populations of cells in the G1 phase and the G2/M phase of cell division, respectively. G1 cells have a single copy of their DNA (1×) and G2/M cells have two copies(2×). Over time from 24 hours to 72 hours, these 1× and 2× peaks remain virtually unchanged in cells treated with the control oligonucleotide or without oligonucleotide. However, in cells treated with the antisense oligonucleotide targeted to Survivin, the majority of cells have two copies of DNA by 24 hours after oligo treatment. This indicates that cell division is arrested. By 48 hours after treatment with this oligonucleotide, a 4× peak is approximately equal in size to the 1× and 2× peaks, indicating roughly equal numbers of cells with one, two and four copies of DNA. By 72 hours the largest peak is 16×, indicating that cells have 16 copies of their DNA and thus that division of the cytoplasm has not occurred for multiple generations. Thus inhibition of Survivin is shown to interfere with cytokinesis.

Example 22

Effect of Antisense Inhibition of Survivin on Cell Proliferation

Human HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells (American Type Culture Collection, CCL-121) were grown in minimal essential medium with 1% non-essential amino acids, 90% with 10% fetal bovine serum (Gibco BRL). Cells were electroporated (Electro Square Porator, Model T820, Biotechnologies and Experimental Research, BTX) with oligonucleotide at settings of 225 volts for 6 milliseconds with a single pulse and oligonucleotide concentrations of 1 to 30 μM. ISIS 23722 (SEQ ID NO: 87) and the mismatch control ISIS 28598 (SEQ ID NO: 248) were used. Cells were plated at 1500 cells/well immediately after electroporation and viable cells were measured by MTT assay at 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours after electroporation. Growth rate (OD/hour) was plotted against oligonucleotide concentration. At an oligonucleotide concentration of 1 μM, growth rates were virtually identical for ISIS 23722 and the control, ISIS 28598 (0.01726 and 0.01683, respectively. At 5 μM oligonucleotide, the growth rate of the ISIS 23722-treated cells was 16.7% less than the control treated cells (0.01433 vs. 0.01728 ?OD/hour, respectively). At 10 μM the growth rate of the ISIS 23722-treated cells was 45% less than the control treated cells (0.009677 vs. 0.01762 ?OD/hour, respectively). At 20 μM the growth rate of the ISIS 23722-treated cells was 52% less than the control treated cells (0.007716 vs. 0.01620 OD/hour, respectively). At 30 μM the growth rate of the ISIS 23722-treated cells was 54% less than the control treated cells (0.006562 vs. 0.01417 OD/hour, respectively). Thus treatment with antisense oligonucleotide targeted to Survivin was demonstrated to reduce the rate of tumor cell proliferation by over 50%.

In an similar experiment using a different control oligonucleotide, a 20mer random oligonucleotide (ISIS 29848, SEQ ID NO: 249; NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN, wherein each N is a mixture of A, C, G and T) a similar result was obtained. Oligonucleotides were tested at concentrations of 0.5 to 20 μM, and cell viability was again measured by MTT assay and growth rate (OD/hour) was calculated. At 0.5 μM oligonucleotide concentrations, growth rates were similar for ISIS 23722 and control treated cells (0.01441 and 0.01342, respectively). At 10 μM the growth rate of the ISIS 23722-treated cells was 57% less than the control treated cells (0.005568 vs. 0.01298 OD/hour, respectively). At 20 μM the growth rate of the ISIS 23722-treated cells was 77% less than the control treated cells (0.002433 vs. 0.01073 OD/hour, respectively). Thus treatment with antisense oligonucleotide targeted to Survivin was demonstrated to reduce the rate of tumor cell proliferation by over 75% compared to control.

A similar experiment was conducted in human MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells, testing ISIS 23722 and the random control ISIS 29848 at doses from 0.5 to 20 μM. Cells were electroporated (Electro Square Porator, Model T820 manufactured by Biotechnologies and Experimental Research, BTX) at settings of 175 volts for 6 milliseconds with a single pulse with oligonucleotide and growth rates were calculated as described above. At 0.5 μM oligonucleotide concentrations, growth rates were similar for ISIS 23722 and control treated cells (0.005959 and 0.005720, respectively). At 1 μM oligonucleotide, growth rates were still relatively similar for ISIS 23722 and control treated cells (0.005938 and 0.005479, respectively). At 5 μM oligonucleotide, growth rates were 0.002574 and 0.005676, respectively for ISIS 23722 and control treated cells. At 10 μM the growth rate of the ISIS 23722-treated cells was 69% less than the control treated cells (0.001828 vs. 0.005901 OD/hour, respectively). At 20 μM the growth rate of the ISIS 23722-treated cells was 64% less than the control treated cells (0.001523 vs. 0.004223 OD/hour, respectively). Thus treatment with antisense oligonucleotide targeted to Survivin was demonstrated to significantly reduce the rate of tumor cell proliferation in several tumor cell types.

Example 23

Sensitization of Cells to Chemotherapeutic Agent Stimuli By ISIS 23722

ISIS 23722 (SEQ ID NO: 87) and a control oligonucleotide, ISIS 29848, a 20mer random oligonucleotide (ISIS 29848, SEQ ID NO: 249; NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN, wherein each N is a mixture of A, C, G and T) were assayed for their ability to sensitize cells to the effects of the chemotherapeutic agents, Taxol and Cisplatin.

Human HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells (American Type Culture Collection, CCL-121) were grown in minimal essential medium with 1% non-essential amino acids, 90% with 10% fetal bovine serum (Gibco BRL). Cells were treated with oligonucleotide at concentrations of 10 to 100 nM alone or in combination with Taxol (concentrations of 0.25 nM or 1 nM) or Cisplatin (concentrations of 5 μM or 25 μM). Treatment with Taxol or Cisplatin followed oligonucleotide treatment by 1-2 hr. Cells were plated at 1500 cells/well immediately after treatment and viable cells were measured by MTT assay at 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 hours after treatment. Growth rate (OD/hour) is plotted against oligonucleotide and/or chemotherapeutic agent concentration.

A similar experiment was conducted in human MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells (American Type Culture Collection), testing ISIS 23722 and the random control ISIS 29848 at doses from 10 to 100 nM alone or in combination with Taxol (concentrations of 0.5 nM or 2 nM) or Cisplatin (concentrations of 2.5 μM or 15 μM). Cells were grown in Dulbecco's Modified Eagles medium (low glucose), 90% with 10% fetal bovine serum (Gibco BRL). Treatment with Taxol or Cisplatin followed oligonucleotide treatment by 1-2 hr. Cells were plated at 2500 cells/well immediately after transfection and viable cells were measured by MTT assay at 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 hours after treatment. Growth rate (OD/hour) is plotted against oligonucleotide and/or chemotherapeutic agent concentration.

Example 24

Mixed Backbone Version of Active Oligonucleotide ISIS 23722

An oligonucleotide having the same sequence as ISIS 23722 (SEQ ID NO: 87) was synthesized, this time as a 2′ MOE gapmer with phosphodiester backbone linkages in the 2′MOE “wings” and phosphorothioate linkages in the 2′deoxy “gap”. Both cytosines are 5-methylcytosines.

This compound is tested for its effects on cell proliferation, cytokinesis and sensitization to chemotherapeutic agents as described herein in previous examples.

Example 25

Down-regulation of IL-11-induced Survivin Expression on Human Skin Engrafted onto Immunodeficient Mice

The efficacy of anti-survivin antisense oligonucleotide cream to down-regulate IL-11 induced survivin expression in human skin grafts was examined in immunodeficient mice. SCID/beige mice were engrafted with human skin obtained from elective surgery and allowed to heal for 5 weeks. Four mice with 2 skin grafts each were used. The right graft of each animal received control (placebo) antisense oligonucleotide cream, while the left graft received the anti-survivin antisense oligonucleotide cream which comprised 5% of the 2′-MOE mixed backbone deoxyoligonucleotide ISIS 28599 (5′-TGTGCTATTCTGTGAATT-3′, SEQ ID NO: 250) (nucleotides 1-4 and 15-18 are 2′-MOE; cytosines at positions 5 and 10 are 5-meC; nucleotides 1-3 and 16-18 are phosphodiester linkages; nucleotides 4-15 are phosphorothioate linkages. The dosing schedule consisted of regular dosing of 100 μl/graft 3 times each day for 3 days. The morning of the 4^(th) day, skin grafts were given their morning dose then 1 hour later injected intradermally with recombinant human IL-11 (500 ng) (Genetics Institute, Andover, Mass.). Antisense oligonucleotide cream was administered for 2 final doses. Animals were sacrificed on the morning of day 5. Grafts were harvested and formalin fixed for paraffin embedding.

Grafts from one animal were not identified in the blocks. The remaining three animals were evaluated by immunostaining for survivin and by routine hematoxylin and eosin histology. Immunostaining was performed on deparaffinized sections as previously described. Briefly, 5-μm tissue sections were cut and slides were baked overnight in a 60° C. oven. Sections were deparaffinized in xylene for 5 hours, washed twice in ethanol, and endogenous peroxidase activity was quenched with 1.5% hydrogen peroxide in methanol for 10 min. Slides were then placed in a 4-quart Wear-Ever pressure cooker (Mirro Co., Manitowoc, Wis.) containing 1.5 liters of 9 mM sodium citrate, pH 6.0 that had been brought to a boil. The lid was secured, and heating was continued (approx. 6 min) until the pressure valve released. Slides were gently cooled by filling the pressure cooker with tap water, and then washed 3 times with water and once with PBS, pH 7.0. Staining was performed using a primary rabbit polyclonal antibody against survivin at a concentration of 0.1 μg/ml in PBS, pH 7.0, containing 0.5% bovine serum albumin (BSA) and 5% normal goat serum (Vector laboratories) and incubated overnight at 4° C. using a Histostain-Plus kit (Zymed) with 3,3′-diaminobenzidine (DAB) as the chromogen.

The histology appeared normal and indistinguishable between the treated and control groups. Survivin expression showed a downregulation of expression in grafts treated with the survivin antisense oligonucleotide cream compared to controls. Both the dermal microvessels and the epidermal keratinocytes showed this downregulation when compared to control grafts. 

1. A method of inhibiting the expression of Survivin in human cells or tissues comprising contacting human cells or tissues with an antisense compound 8 to 30 nucleobases in length targeted to a nucleic acid molecule encoding human survivin so that expression of Survivin is inhibited.
 2. A method of inhibiting cytokinesis in a cell comprising contacting a cell with an antisense compound 8 to 30 nucleobases length targeted to a nucleic acid molecule encoding human survivin so that cytokinesis is inhibited.
 3. A method of inhibiting progression of the cell cycle in a cell comprising contacting a cell with an antisense compound 8 to 30 nucleobases in length targeted to a nucleic acid molecule encoding human survivin so that progression of the cell cycle is inhibited.
 4. A method of inhibiting the proliferation of cells comprising contacting cells with an effective amount of an antisense compound 8 to 30 nucleobases in length targeted to a nucleic acid molecule encoding human survivin, so that proliferation of the cells is inhibited.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein said cells are cancer cells.
 6. The method of claim 4 further comprising contacting said cells with a chemotherapeutic agent.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein said chemotherapeutic agent is taxol or cisplatin.
 8. The method of any one of claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 wherein said antisense compound is an antisense oligonucleotide.
 9. The method of any one of claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 wherein said antisense compound is a chimeric oligonucleotide. 